Keith Woolford Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 Chiriqui Producers Begin Indefinite Strike, Cease to Supply Markets Ricardo Richards | 13 Jun 2017 06.58am From 6:00 a.m. Tuesday producers from Alta Tierras, Boquete, Renascimiento and other areas of the province of Chiriqui stopped supplying the markets at the national level. The purpose of the protest is to demand that the Government sanction Project 443, amending the Decree that created by the Panamanian Food Safety Authority (Aupsa) that has affected them with excessive imports. For its part, the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture requested the president Juan Carlos Varela's partial veto the bill and a greater consensus on the establishment of a policy that responds to the needs. http://www.telemetro.com/nacionales/Productores-Chiriqui-indefinido-abastecer-mercados_0_1035196687.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 Pardon my ignorance, but what does Chiriqui Producers produce? What is the significance of this strike? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted June 13, 2017 Author Share Posted June 13, 2017 (edited) 21 minutes ago, Bud said: what does Chiriqui Producers produce? What is the significance of this strike? Producers are independent vegetable growers. I think a strike would be felt more in the rest of the country while Chiriqui would still have many small farms supplying the local market. Edited June 13, 2017 by Keith Woolford Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 There's no mention of Cerro Punta. It isn't clear to me if this is just some of the vegetable growers or all of them in Chiriqui banding together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted June 13, 2017 Author Share Posted June 13, 2017 Just now, Bonnie said: There's no mention of Cerro Punta. It isn't clear to me if this is just some of the vegetable growers or all of them in Chiriqui banding together. Tierras Altas is the new District that includes Cerro Punta and Volcan. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distrito_de_Tierras_Altas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 1 minute ago, Keith Woolford said: Tierras Altas is the new District that includes Cerro Punta and Volcan. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distrito_de_Tierras_Altas Thanks, Keith. I had no idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted June 14, 2017 Author Share Posted June 14, 2017 Police in Boquete had to deal with some unruly producers this afternoon, including Diputada Athena's alternate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted June 14, 2017 Author Share Posted June 14, 2017 (edited) Chiriqui rice growers have joined the strike of the vegetable producers and today blocked all 4 lanes of the PanAmerican Highway in David. Edited June 14, 2017 by Keith Woolford Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Doug Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 This seems pretty alarming to me. I hope President Varela shows some leadership pretty quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted June 15, 2017 Author Share Posted June 15, 2017 Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture are meeting with producers this morning in Tierras Altas to try and sort this out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted June 15, 2017 Author Share Posted June 15, 2017 (edited) The President has vetoed the legislation that was objectionable to the growers and vegetable laden trucks have started to roll into the capital again. http://www.critica.com.pa/nacional/empieza-normalizarse-la-venta-en-mercados-agricolas-tras-paro-478263 Edited June 15, 2017 by Keith Woolford Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Doug Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Good news! I never fully understood the underlying dispute, but I'm glad my supply of pineapples is not in jeopardy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted June 16, 2017 Moderators Share Posted June 16, 2017 Quote Veto of Controversial Food Law in Panama The bill to reform the decree that created the Panamanian Food Authority has been vetoed by President Varela, amid pressure from the agricultural sector. Wednesday, June 14, 2017 The presidential veto over the bill comes days after the Panamanian guild of private companies asked the executive branch to intervene, amid protests by agricultural producers in the province of Chiriquí. With the legal reform, the intention was to allow "... national producers to be on the board of the AUPSA, and to repeal two articles concerning the obligation of officials to ratify imports in 30 days, under penalty of criminal and administrative charges."From a statement issued by the Presidency of Panama:Bill 443, which reforms the Panamanian Authority for Food Safety (AUPSA), was partially vetoed, at the same time the setting up of a Work Table was announced in order to reach an agreement between the different opinions that exist in the sector concerning this issue.The Bureau of Labor will be headed by the Government the Ministries of Agricultural Development, Health and Trade, as well as authorities of the AUPSA. The Minister of MIDA, Eduardo Carles will coordinate the Work Table whose purpose is try to bring together the different opinions on the subject. http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Veto_of_Controversial_Food_Law_in_Panama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted June 19, 2017 Moderators Share Posted June 19, 2017 Quote A producers strike puts Panama’s supply in check Elaine Nava| Sat, 06/17/2017 - 12:13 A producers strike puts Panama’s supply in check The strike of the highland producers in the province of Chiriquí caused a 60% shortage in the Central Agricultural Market of Panama. These actions are bassed upon the complaints that for years, the producers have sustained. They have warned that privileging imports over local production, as well as not providing the necessary incentives for producers. For example, the rice farmers' association anticipates that it will be necessary to import certified rice seeds for the planting period beginning in May 2017. The excessive rains that affected rice production, mainly in the province of Chiriquí, will force producers to import certified seeds before the beginning of the agricultural period. The president of the Association of Rice Producers in the province of Chiriquí, Gabriel Araúz, explained at the time that “the rains that have occurred caused that yields per hectare that were in 120 hundredweights, lowered to 40 hundredweights”. Another documented case is onion. Currently there is a shortage of national onion, since the production of this item is not self sufficient to supply the local market. The price of the national onion is 60 dollars a hundredweight and does not bring the 50 pounds it should, while the price of the imported one is between 62 and 64 dollars, forcing the merchants to sell their products above the regulated price. This situation could be aggravated because the onion producers have indicated that for this next month of July in Panama there will be a deficit of 21,000 hundredweights of this item. After the stoppage of marketing of products to the national markets by the producers of Chiriqui, as a means of pressureing the government for the early sanction of law 443 of the Panamanian Authority of Food Safety (Aupsa), the Minister of Agricultural Development (Mida) Eduardo E. Carles, arrived in Chiriqui to meet with producers and set up the technical consultation table on the law. Carles indicated that they hope to define in an integral way the modifications of the law so that in the next 30 days he can issue linear comments on the agreement. The minister added that “it would be good that the Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture of Chiriquí and the Union of Industrialists of Panama, also participate in this round table”. Representatives of the Association of Highland Producers will state that they are willing to negotiate and that they have resumed the distribution of their products throughout the country. Meanwhile, producers in the province of Veraguas complained about the attitude of the government and warned to go on strike as a pressure mechanism to stop imports. http://www.panamatoday.com/economy/producers-strike-puts-panamas-supply-check-4555 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elaine Nava| Sat, 06/17/2017 - 12:13 A producers strike puts Panama’s supply in check The strike of the highland producers in the province of Chiriquí caused a 60% shortage in the Central Agricultural Market of Panama. These actions are bassed upon the complaints that for years, the producers have sustained. They have warned that privileging imports over local production, as well as not providing the necessary incentives for producers. For example, the rice farmers' association anticipates that it will be necessary to import certified rice seeds for the planting period beginning in May 2017. The excessive rains that affected rice production, mainly in the province of Chiriquí, will force producers to import certified seeds before the beginning of the agricultural period. The president of the Association of Rice Producers in the province of Chiriquí, Gabriel Araúz, explained at the time that “the rains that have occurred caused that yields per hectare that were in 120 hundredweights, lowered to 40 hundredweights”. Another documented case is onion. Currently there is a shortage of national onion, since the production of this item is not self sufficient to supply the local market. The price of the national onion is 60 dollars a hundredweight and does not bring the 50 pounds it should, while the price of the imported one is between 62 and 64 dollars, forcing the merchants to sell their products above the regulated price. This situation could be aggravated because the onion producers have indicated that for this next month of July in Panama there will be a deficit of 21,000 hundredweights of this item. After the stoppage of marketing of products to the national markets by the producers of Chiriqui, as a means of pressureing the government for the early sanction of law 443 of the Panamanian Authority of Food Safety (Aupsa), the Minister of Agricultural Development (Mida) Eduardo E. Carles, arrived in Chiriqui to meet with producers and set up the technical consultation table on the law. Carles indicated that they hope to define in an integral way the modifications of the law so that in the next 30 days he can issue linear comments on the agreement. The minister added that “it would be good that the Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture of Chiriquí and the Union of Industrialists of Panama, also participate in this round table”. Representatives of the Association of Highland Producers will state that they are willing to negotiate and that they have resumed the distribution of their products throughout the country. Meanwhile, producers in the province of Veraguas complained about the attitude of the government and warned to go on strike as a pressure mechanism to stop imports.
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