The Regional International Organization for Agricultural Health (OIRSA) will own the scanner the government will use to analyze export products.
The idea is to make the purchase. We already have a roadmap with OIRSA, ”
said Luis Felipe Arauz, Minister of Agriculture, adding that the agreement will include not only the scanner, but other forms of cooperation.
When asked where will the money go -since OIRSA is not a state entity- Arauz replied that the Phytosanitary Service and the National Animal Health Service (SENASA) will be partners in this project.
The hierarch is aware that once the equipment is acquired and the agreement is signed, it will take some time for the equipment to reach the country.
For now, the SFE cannot use the scanners donated by China, which are in Limón, because China did not signed the agreement.
The Ministry of Finance was responsible for starting the equipment, but since 2008 it was not capable of doing so and that is why it was moved to the SFE. The lack of use had a cost of $ 420,000 because of the need for repairs.
The export sector has been insisting on the need to install a scanner because some products are being used as “mules” for the smuggling of drugs, especially to European and South American countries. Pineapple, cassava, chayote and flowers are just some of the sectors that have been victims of this.
It is known that the drug is introduced to containers in the port or on the road.
The new technology allows scanners to inspect the container from its arrival to its delivery without being opened. So far, the exporters have been willing to pay $ 16 per container.