With the summer season getting into full swing, the Balearic Islands Business Association for Goods (FEBT) expressed its concern on Friday about the fare increases applied by shipping companies, which could exceed 100% by 2025, and warned of the impact these increases will have on the logistics chain and the final cost of products.
According to the Balearic Transport Business Federation (FEBT), to which the association belongs, some routes, such as Valencia-Ibiza, have seen increases of up to 80%, compounded by delays and waiting times in the ports of Valencia and Barcelona, which hamper the sector’s operations and cause delays in the arrival of goods to the islands.
The association also denounces the growing concentration of maritime operations, without any expansion of the fleet, and the shared use of holds between shipping companies, which leads to an accumulation of vehicles waiting to board and problems in guaranteeing continuity of service.
In view of this situation, the FEBT has called on the Balearic government and shipping companies to act with greater transparency and responsibility, and has offered its collaboration in seeking solutions to ensure fair and sustainable maritime transport for the islands’ economy.
The Balearic Islands Transport Business Federation (FEBT) warned back in mid April that more than a hundred vehicles carrying non-perishable goods were stranded in the ports of Valencia and Barcelona bound for the Balearics due to a lack of space on ships bound for the islands.
The manager of the FEBT, Petra Mut, explained that this situation had been going on since the beginning of April when the number of goods vehicles and trailers waiting in the ports of Valencia and Barcelona bound for the ports of Mallorca, Alcudia, Menorca and Ibiza exceeded one hundred on certain days.
Mut clarified that this situation does not affect vehicles transporting perishable goods or food, as these have priority for loading for obvious reasons. The FEBT manager has urged the three shipping companies operating in the Balearics to do ‘everything possible’ to speed up the transfer of these transport vehicles, which is particularly damaging to tourist establishments that have been unable to complete their renovations due to a lack of supplies.