Recent weeks have witnessed long delays in the release of food shipments arriving to the port of Ashdod.
The Food Importers Association ( FIA ),the Israeli Federation of Chambers of Commerce ( IFCC ) as well as the Israeli Federation of International Freight Forwarders & Customs Clearing Agents (IFFCCA ) have all lodged bitter complaints with the Ministry of Health which is being held responsible to the unprecedented long delays, causing a shipment to be stored at the port area or at container freight stations for 5-6 days over and above the average release period.
All three organizations have blamed the Ministry of Health for not taking the right and the necessary steps to overcome the problems, leaving the food importers community to carry an extra heavy cost burden, having to pay not only towards additional storage fees but also for high demurrage fees.
The Ministry has argued that the long delays are the result of a decision taken by the Minister after the tragic event known as the “Remedia Saga” in which a few babies suffered brain damage due to having been fed with wrong baby food formula.
Once it was established that the damage was due to the wrong formula the ministry has made all sensitive food imports undergo further checks, before being granted right to enter the market.
The Food Importers Association ( FIA ),the Israeli Federation of Chambers of Commerce ( IFCC ) as well as the Israeli Federation of International Freight Forwarders & Customs Clearing Agents (IFFCCA ) have all lodged bitter complaints with the Ministry of Health which is being held responsible to the unprecedented long delays, causing a shipment to be stored at the port area or at container freight stations for 5-6 days over and above the average release period.
All three organizations have blamed the Ministry of Health for not taking the right and the necessary steps to overcome the problems, leaving the food importers community to carry an extra heavy cost burden, having to pay not only towards additional storage fees but also for high demurrage fees.
The Ministry has argued that the long delays are the result of a decision taken by the Minister after the tragic event known as the “Remedia Saga” in which a few babies suffered brain damage due to having been fed with wrong baby food formula.
Once it was established that the damage was due to the wrong formula the ministry has made all sensitive food imports undergo further checks, before being granted right to enter the market.
