The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) is investigating eight banana exporters for alleged fraudulent shipment plans. The State Portfolio reported this Thursday, July 13, that it had initiated administrative proceedings against these companies.

The Ministry stated that the companies involved were: Banana Real Banana Comercializadora Exportadora de Banana Sociedad Anónima; Boccale; Coragrofruit; dealfruit HilldaleBusiness; agrobanany; Agroberruz and Damascoswett. The Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Eduardo Izaguirre, confirmed that the MAG initiated procedures under Article 10 of the Law on the Promotion and Control of the Production and Commercialization of Bananas, Plantains (Barraganeta) and other Musáceas Afines, intended for export.

How was the code used, allegedly, to export boxes of bananas without going through the banana control system? Musáceas’ undersecretary and minister Eduardo Izaguirre explains this

However, this is not the first time this year that the Ministry has opened files on companies for this reason. By May of last year, the State Portfolio reported four companies against which administrative proceedings were initiated for the alleged falsification of more than 104 ship plans.

Meanwhile, Izaguirre explained that this time the irregularities were discovered after a random inspection of the declared shipping plans.

“It was established that the mentioned companies had unauthorized codes, which fall under the purported untruth in the declarations of the ship’s plans,” MAG said.

Article 10 of the aforementioned law states that: “Each natural or legal person who exports bananas, plantains (barraganetes) and other related musáceas intended for export must submit to the appropriate sub-secretariat, forty-eight hours before shipment, a temporary shipment plan, which will contain the name of the producer , the name of the agricultural property, the planted area and the area in which it is located. Within seventy-two hours after shipment, the exporter shall submit to the appropriate undersecretary the final shipment plan. Failure to present or falsify the documentation that the exporter is required to present from the previous paragraphs will be punished by a fine in the amount of two hundred minimum living wages.

Manufacturers are waiting for an official response to the request to cancel the F code, while exporters assure that deliveries under this legal modality continue without problems

Izaguirre confirmed that the entity follows the prescribed procedure and indicated that, if verified, appropriate sanctions will be imposed on the companies.