The Government of Spain, through the Delegation of the Government in the Canary Islands, has granted in 2024 just over 105 million euros in subsidies for the transport of goods carried out during the year 2023 in the Archipelago, which represents an increase of 18.41% compared to the approximately 88.7 million euros granted the previous year.

The Government delegate in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana, reported today on the data relating to the management of these subsidies by the Functional Area of Promotion of the Government Delegation at a press conference in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, attended by representatives of the Industrial Association of the Canary Islands (ASINCA), the Association of Harvesters and Exporters of Flowers and Live Plants of the Canary Islands (ASOCAN), the Provincial Federation of Associations of Exporters of Fruit and Vegetable Products of Las Palmas (FEDEX).

These are three types of aid for the transport of goods in the Canary Islands, differentiated according to their regulatory standard according to the type of goods and financing: subsidies for transport in the Canary Islands. industrial sector (co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund - ERDF), transport subsidies in the agricultural sector, and to banana transport.

“The data show how the Government of Spain continues to work to save the difficulties faced by the Canarian productive sector due to the condition of ours as an outermost European territory. Canarian companies and farmers must compete on an equal footing with other producers in the European single market. And that is why this aid is granted that allows us to bridge geographical distances to make our products even more competitive,” says Anselmo Pestana.

“In the last three years we have increased the volume of aid for the transport of goods in the Canary Islands by about 20% per year and we are already on track to double the number of subsidies granted in 2021, which were about 66.66 million euros. This Government Delegation and its officials respond to the effort of the productive sector of the Canary Islands to recover after the pandemic by managing the aid so that it reaches more and more beneficiaries,” he adds.

The government delegate in the Canary Islands has highlighted the increase that has been occurring in the number of beneficiaries of aid in the industrial sector (from 175 in 2022 to almost 200 in 2024) and has valued the effort made in the information on this type of aid that has been carried out through platforms such as the website. government delegation website y del Ministerio de Política Territorial y Memoria Democrática (incluida en su homepage).

In 2024, €63,698,135.56 was granted to 197 beneficiaries in terms of aid to the industrial sector (55,062,682.73 euros in 2023), 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.

Likewise, the granting of 18,993,801.90 euros to 162 beneficiaries has been resolved favourably in relation to the subsidies to the agricultural sector (17,545,333.05 euros in 2023), 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.

By products, the largest amount of subsidies, which farmers request through associations, cooperative companies or intermediaries, is concentrated in this type of aid in tomatoes (3.86 million euros), aquaculture products (3.77 million euros), livestock - cattle/meat feed - (3.61 million euros) and fruits and vegetables (3.29 million euros).

Likewise, 22,318,306.45 euros have been granted to 8 beneficiaries in subsidies for the transport of bananas, the announcement of which is published every year 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.

In the latter case, there has been an increase of 38.84% in the amounts granted in aid for the transport of bananas compared to the 16,074,892.14 euros granted by the Government Delegation in the Canary Islands in 2023, since the number of beneficiaries in the register is significantly lower than the other two aid for transport due to the concentration of the applications of banana producers in associations and cooperatives.

The subsidies granted to the transport of bananas and industrial goods exceed the credit initially established in the General State Budgets for 2023 (extended for 2024), which was about 55.53 million euros, so an extension of the initially foreseen credit of more than 26.5 million euros has been made, to be able to pay 100% of the costs justified by the applicants, which shows the importance given to this aid by the Government of Spain.