Panama Wants to Become an Agricultural Logistics Center


News from Panama / Tuesday, September 13th, 2011

The idea is to develop a storage facility for perishable goods coming from South America which would then be exported to the U.S.  Here is the article.

The Minister of Agriculture of Panama, Emilio Kieswetter, traveled to the U.S. yesterday to meet with entrepreneurs in this country interested in making Panama a multimodal logistics hub for shipping agricultural products from South America and Panama for the North American country, an official report. The Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) of Panama stated that the staff know, on a mission that will last until Friday, the new multimodal logistics platform company Gateway Mississippi Gulf Coast, and to know how that type of technology facilitates the export of perishable goods through the cold chain system.

A cold chain is a temperature-controlled supply chain. An unbroken cold chain is an uninterrupted series of storage and distribution activities which maintain a given temperature range

In a press release, the agricultural portfolio stated that the company mentioned in the U.S. is interested in establishing close to the Tocumen International Airport in Panama City center collection of products from South America and Panama for re-export to North America. It was also reported that the Panamanian minister signed in the United States a technical cooperation agreement with the president of the University of Mississippi, with the aim of developing a program training in Panama. Kieswetter also noted that on occasion visited production farms, including livestock, and will meet with buyers interested in Mississippi special products of Panama. The government of Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli has acknowledged its interest in have the best food distribution center in Central America, and as part of its Cold Chain, whose establishment is estimated to cost in the order of $ 230 million. With this initiative the government seeks to have a system distribution logistics controlled environment, with which it is intended that the products arrive in perfect condition at their point of sale.