The Government delegate in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana, today presided over the opening of the information day for companies Aid for the transport of goods to or from the Canary Islands, organized by the Government Delegation in the Canary Islands and the Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Services and Navigation of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The inauguration of this day, which is held at the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce in the capital of Tenerife, was also attended by the president of the Committee on Foreign Trade of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Services and Navigation of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Arturo Escuder, the island director of External Action of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Pedro González, and the territorial director of Commerce and delegate of ICEX in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Cristina García.
The objective of the day is to offer complete information to Canarian companies so that they have knowledge of the procedures and requirements necessary to apply for the aid managed by the Functional Area of Promotion of the Government Delegation in the Canaries for the Transport of industrial, agricultural and banana goods to and from the archipelago.
The government delegate has highlighted how this aid has become increasingly relevant to the business and industrial fabric of the Canary Islands, particularly in the last five years, in which it has gone from the granting of 69.1 million euros in aid in 2019 for transport carried out in 2018, to the approximately 89 million euros granted in 2023 for transport carried out in 2022, which represents an increase of more than 28%.
“In recent years the Government of Spain has been updating and improving the regulations governing this aid, with the focus always on improving the conditions in which Canary Island companies operate, and within the commitment to the Canary Islands and its prosperity. This aid partially alleviates the unequal conditions in which our archipelago operates, not only because of the insular fact, which is constitutionally recognized, but also because of its status as an outermost region in the European single market,” says Anselmo Pestana.
“One of the last improvements promoted by this Government, through the Law on General State Budgets for 2023, was to allow advance payments for transport aid, that is, that part of this subsidy can be received by Canary Island companies already in the first half of the year, without having to wait for the final resolution of their application. These are improvements that in turn result in the productive fabric, in the dynamization of the economy and in the social prosperity of our islands,” he adds.
For his part, the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Trade of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Services and Navigation of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has encouraged Canarian businessmen to know how this aid works: "It is not a gift," he said, "but a compensation for our remoteness to the European continent that places us on an equal footing with other Spanish companies so that we can cover our traditional markets such as the Peninsula and the rest of Europe. Especially in such an unstable environment, where freight prices vary significantly.”
“If we want to ensure a solid base of Canarian companies that sell to the rest of the world, it is necessary to reduce the route that separates us from the Peninsula, since we must not forget that 55% of our exports are directed to the European Union,” he added.
In recent years, the budget appropriation established by the State to deal with this aid is being declared extendable by the General Budgets, which allows that, although initially there is a specific item to finance it, it can subsequently be increased to cover 100% of the costs justified by companies, which already happened in 2023, when 79 million euros were budgeted and finally about 89 million euros were paid.
The Functional Area of Promotion of the Government Delegation manages three types of aid for the transport of goods in the Canary Islands, differentiated according to its regulatory standard according to the type of goods and financing: transport subsidies in the industrial sector (co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund - ERDF), transport subsidies in the agricultural sector, and banana transport.
Aid to the industrial sector is regulated by Royal Decree 147/2019, of 15 March, on compensation for the maritime and air transport of goods not included in Annex I of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, with origin or destination in the Canary Islands, while subsidies to the agricultural sector are regulated by Royal Decree 552/2020 of 2 June, on compensation for the maritime and air transport of goods included in Annex I of the TFEU, with origin or destination in the Canary Islands.
Subsidies for the transport of bananas are called up every year and published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), in accordance with the provisions of articles 17.3.b and 20.8.a of Law 38/2003, of 17 November, General Subsidies.