The General Secretary of Agricultural Resources and Food Security, Ana Rodríguez, visited today the Border Control Post of Vigo (PCF) together with the subdelegate of the Government in Pontevedra, Abel Losada, to check the operation of the new unified organization of the border inspection service of goods that is carried out in Spain. The controls of products of animal origin are already unified, while in those of plant origin it advances at a good pace.
This new model, operational since October 1, already demonstrates greater efficiency in the controls of agri-food products. Customs has been launched as a pilot project, with good results in terms of improved controls and greater efficiency for operators. From February, it is expected that the unification of services will be completed and will therefore reach the port of Vigo.
Unification aims to improve the quality, agility and effectiveness of border control. In this regard, the Secretary General explained that “this is a new approach, under the concept of a single health, to protect both human and animal and plant health”. He has reported that 550 agents are at the service of these border controls in the 44 points existing in Spain.
This checkpoint in Vigo is one of the most important in northern Spain, with a very intense traffic in agri-food products. In this customs, fishery products are mainly imported, mainly frozen fish, followed by fruit and vegetables, and fishery products are mainly exported.
In terms of imports, fish and seafood come first, with more than 525,000 tons per year. Secondly, the fruits and nuts, with more than 180,000 tons. In terms of exports, fishing is the most exported product, with 115,000 tons, followed by dairy products, with more than 30,000 tons per year.
In the border control services, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is involved as a department that technically supervises the work of the inspectors. Through an order approved in July, the Government reorganized these services by regrouping them in a single integrated control system, under the functional coordination of the ministry and in which the ministries of Health, as well as Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory are also involved.
Abel Losada: “The PCF numbers are spectacular”
The subdelegate of the Government in Pontevedra highlighted the intense activity that takes place in the Border Control Post of Vigo, “the first in Spain in inspection of animal products (mainly fish) and the fifth in vegetable products (especially fruit)”. “The PCF numbers are spectacular and demonstrate the magnificent work done here by inspection, administrative and laboratory personnel, even though the facilities are small and insufficient for the enormous volume of goods being handled.”
Losada stressed that “the problems registered in recent months in the Port of Vigo are not located in the public part, but in the Maritime Terminal of Vigo (Termavi), of private management”. In this regard, he has reported that the General Administration of the State is collaborating with the Port Authority and Termavi providing all their experience and knowledge to help them solve the logistical problems with freight traffic, which have been aggravated with the enormous growth that has led the port of Vigo to the historic record in container traffic since last spring.