The cost of freight is estimated to have gone up by as much as 20%.

The cost of freight is estimated to have gone up by as much as 20%. | Archive

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma06/02/2020 13:10
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Transport minister Marc Pons has announced that the next state budget will include a reduction in the tax for the transporting of goods that applies to ports in the Balearics. A figure has yet to be put on this tax cut, but it will be one, says Pons, which will offset the increased cost of freight that has resulted from higher costs of ships' fuel.

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Carriers are paying 20% more in freight since 1 January

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The reduction has been agreed with the Spanish government and the Balearics Ports Authority, but it will not just apply to the five state ports, of which Palma is the main one; the regional government will also be cutting the equivalent tax at ports that it controls through Ports IB, Ports de les Illes Balears.

The cost of ships' fuel increased at the start of the year because of the introduction of new regulations that limit sulphur content. The Balearics Transport Federation has estimated that the cost of freight has gone up between ten and twenty per cent as a consequence.