Food cold chain project remains frozen

Another election campaign  promise —  lower food prices– is facing a setback.During the election campaign President Ricardo Martinelli promised a chain of cold storage and shipping centers, but after 21 months not a brick has been laid says La Prensa

Officials say that the technical side of the program — doing an inventory of agricultural production and design of markets center has been completed.
But the tender to build the first visible work of the project, a public market in David, Chiriqui, has been voided.
The only bid, came from the CCE Infrastructure Consortium for $13 million, which exceeded the reference price of $4 million. In the meantime the cost of construction has risen and there will have to be a refiguring before fresh bids are called for, and food supplies continue to deteriorate before reaching the marketplace.
The Cold Chain war originally under the Ministry of Agricultural Development, but in December 2009 was transferred to the Ministry of the Presidency in order to get it done faster.
Instead, La Prensa reports that Gerardino Batista, president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association says: "Agriculture is a patient in intensive care,"