WASHINGTON: Merchants warned on Friday that should lorry drivers continue to refuse to pick up containers from Limassol port, there will be a shortage of goods in the market very soon with an impact on the economy worth millions of euros. The prolonged protest by truck drivers outside the container terminal over delays during loading and unloading at the port, led to the stacking of more than 2,000 containers, while the number is increasing by the day, Eurogate said on Friday. Eurogate assumed the responsibility for the container business at the Limassol port in late January. As negotiations between the lorry drivers, Eurogate and Transport minister Marios Demetriades continue, importers and exporters are not happy waiting for their merchandise to be delivered or picked up at the port.
Importers of foodstuff and pharmaceuticals warn that this could lead to shortages, while farmers say that the delay in the import of products necessary for the cultivation of their crops could hurt their production. “The continued refusal by truckers to cooperate by picking up goods from the port is irresponsible towards their business clients and by extension workers and consumers who will begin to experience shortages in the market,” the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve) said in an announcement. It added that the truckers’ behaviour was “unacceptable and with disastrous consequences” to the economy.
