Food Logistics Delayed: Protests In Bocas Del Toro Panama -

(MENAFN- Newsroom Panama) After more than a month of protests in the Bocas del Toro area of ​​Panama, there is already a severe impact on food logistics. It is reported that 90% of the notification, import, transit, and transshipment procedures for food entering the country from the region and using the province as a transportation route have been impacted. This alert was issued by Carmen Peralta, head of Entry Points for the Panamanian Food Agency (APA). The affected cargo movement is that coming from Central America or that which must be transported to Europe or the United States. Some of the affected products are“key products such as bananas, dairy products, pineapple, mangoes, and squash.

Likewise, oversight of goods in open transit for duty-free stores continues, including liquor, canned goods, chocolates, and energy drinks,” said the APA Head of Entry Points. Peralta explained that between June 2024 and April 2025, the APA regional headquarters in Guabito and Almirante, Bocas del Toro, reported a monthly average of 69 import notifications, 381 transit notifications, and 19 transshipment notifications. However, he said, in May 2025, these figures dropped to just seven import notifications, 32 transit notifications, and 18 transshipment notifications, as a result of the protest.

Due to the road closures and obstructions, Peralta does not rule out an economic impact on the lost revenue from the various procedures, although he clarified that the agency does not handle that type of information. This same strike is what led Chiquita to close its operations in Panama, laying off some 5,000 employees. Banana growers and other workers in Bocas del Toro are maintaining an indefinite strike, as they believe that Law 45, which protects their labor rights, was affected by the reforms made to the CSS through Law 462.

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