“It is unacceptable that in the 21st century the supermarket shelves on Terceira Island are empty, that businesses on Terceira Island cannot export and import products, and that companies on the island that rely on the internal market cannot get their products to other islands. This clear detriment is inadmissible,” stated Marcos Couto, President of the Terceira Chamber of Commerce, at a press conference in Angra do Heroísmo.
For several years, the business association of the islands of Terceira, São Jorge, and Graciosa has been highlighting the issues faced by entrepreneurs in maritime freight transport. However, as Marcos Couto pointed out, “in recent months, the situation has deteriorated dramatically,” leading to “stock shortages of various products on the island.”
Terceira has direct weekly maritime connections with the mainland, but the unpredictability of port schedules at Praia da Vitória has caused constraints in both imports and exports.
“We have had over 20 changes to the scheduled sailings in a month. The unpredictability is total,” emphasized Marcos Couto.
Entrepreneurs have been alerting the Regional Government, which has stated that it frequently meets with the Institute and the Authority of Mobility and Transports to address the situation, yet the problems continue.
“For one reason or another, there is always an excuse for the delays, whether it is bad weather, the vessel is in dry dock, or it has broken down. I understand all the explanations, but I cannot remain idle when our members are being harmed in this manner over the years. We cannot continue any longer. A solution must be found,” he stressed.
One potential solution proposed by the President of the Terceira Chamber of Commerce is the initiation of an international public tender for the provision of the service.
“Define the schedules, the obligations, the costs. Compensate those who need to provide the service, and create predictability and frequency,” he suggested.
About three years ago, Terceira also lost containerized cargo sea connections to the central group islands, affecting the internal market, such as meat trading.
“We feel that in recent years Terceira Island has been subject to unprecedented economic strangulation, losing containerized cargo connections with the other central group islands, heavily penalizing the specific sector of meat production, where the island no longer has access to meat from other islands,” indicated the President of the Terceira Chamber of Commerce.
Without disclosing figures, Marcos Couto stated that the losses are significant and that the data has been forwarded to transportation authorities.
According to entrepreneurs, the delay in ship arrivals sometimes reduces the value of fresh products, with reports of perishable goods, such as yogurts, arriving at the end of their shelf life.
Regarding perishable goods, ships arriving late on Friday also result in increased logistical costs for companies, which are forced to pay overtime to employees over the weekend.
“In this way, the economy of the Azores will never grow, and the economy of Terceira Island and the central group will never grow, because the losses have been significant,” concluded Marcos Couto.
