QCOSTARICA – Two containers with 40 tones of sweetener from Costa Rica are stranded in a Mexico City port and cannot be unloaded, due to a missing certificate from the Servicio Nacional de Salud Animal (SENASA) – Costa Rica’s national animal health service.
Mexican authorities are asking the Costa Rican company, Sweetwell, for a certification of two dairy products, one of which come from countries that have FMD.
According to Carlos Mateo, Sweetwell’s CEO, due to the delays by the SENASA the company has failed to get its product into Mexico
Mateo told La Nacion “… on Wednesday the permit will have been 20 days in process and we still do not have it.”
In March of this year Sweetwell announced it would begin to export its products Mexico’s to be sold in Walmart stores. But it wasn’t until three weeks ago that the first two containers, with 19 different products, were shipped.
The products requiring the certification include syrup candy products, which has two dairy ingredients: modified milk powder and whey.
Mateo believes the certificates could be issued in a matter of 15 minutes.
SENASA director, Bernardo Jaen, says they have not yet inspected the products, blaming the company for not providing all the documentation.
The Minister of Foreign Trade (COMEX) in Costa Rica, Alexander Mora, confirmed the problem, but said the company is also guilty because it should have been clear on all the requirements.
Source: La Nacion
