THE GOVERNMENT should consider constructing terminals or barges for refrigerated containers to relieve food supply bottlenecks in island provinces, especially those with underutilized ports, according to the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food, Inc. (PCAFI).

Such infrastructure may solve supply chain disruptions in the Visayas caused by the rehabilitation of San Juanico bridge, which has disrupted the logistics of pork and other commodities, the group said in a statement.

“This will not only ensure smooth flow of commodities but also lower inter-island food prices and even in key metro areas,” it said.

“Modern dry and reefer container logistics are essential for access to production inputs and export markets,” PCAFI President Danilo V. Fausto said.

San Juanico bridge connects Samar and Leyte islands, and forms part of the land-and-ferry supply line linking Luzon and Mindanao.

About 10 of the Philippines’ 15 biggest islands have limited access to modern container logistics.

The 10 islands, which make up 18% of the country’s landmass, are Samar, Palawan, Mindoro, Leyte, Bohol, Masbate, Catanduanes, Basilan, Marinduque, and Busuanga.

These islands also suffer from bottlenecks in the supply of animal feed, fertilizer, chemicals machinery, apart from challenges in transporting their produce, according to PCAFI.

Stopgap measures like container barges or landing craft with drop-down ramps, adapted from military transports designed to carry tanks, have made container logistics somewhat viable, it said.

“This mode of logistics is somehow like the extensive river barge trade in the US and in Europe but adapted to open water.”

The government can pilot the project in the underutilized San Isidro Ferry Port in Northern Samar to address the logistics crisis caused by the current load limits on San Juanico bridge, according to PCAFI.

The proposal, estimated to cost P100 million, involves equipping the port with forklifts and reach stackers to move 20-foot containers to and from landing craft.

San Isidro port is 130 nautical miles away from Cebu and 150 nautical miles from Iloilo, which PCAFI said need additional supplies of food. They also serve as transshipment points for food exports.

The National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc. has said that hog producers will be forced to pass on to consumers additional logistics costs of about P4-P6 per kilo of pork due to disruptions at the bridge.

He said producers must pay for an additional Roll-on, Roll-off (RoRo) vessel to ship hogs from the Visayas to Mindanao, with each cargo truck paying an average of P40,000 to P60,000.

“The project will relieve pressure on RoRo operations,” PCAFI said.

At a throughput of 100 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in and 100 TEUs out per day, the container logistics project will take out up to 200 truck movements per day from the congested Matnog and Amandayehan sea crossings, it noted.

The project will facilitate easier inbound movement of key items like rice, canned goods, and animal feed and fertilizer to Samar while allowing better outbound movement of raw materials like fresh or dehusked coconut for processing, banana and even coffee and ube, it added.

It said aside from Samar, the government can pilot the container logistics project in Bohol using the underutilized Ubay port; Southern Palawan via and expansion of Brooke’s Point port (for about a P250-million investment) and Mindoro using Calapan and Abra de Ilog ports (for an investment of P50 million). — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza