As is typical at this time of the year, barrels, boxes and other cargo have been arriving galore and although its so close to Christmas, there was still a huge amount waiting to be cleared and delivered up to yesterday.
Stabroek News visited two major shipping companies to find out what modifications they have made to their systems for the season, what percentage of their Christmas shipment has been received and how much of it has been cleared.
At John Fernandes Limited all the Christmas cargo had arrived, was unloaded and awaiting customers to collect, according to Warehouse Manager Mark Archer.
He also related that the only modification made to the system was that the barrels are not being checked. Archer stated that the warehouse was full of barrels and boxes, but customers were not going in to pick them up as they had anticipated.
He said they will be open until noon on Christmas Eve (today).
Meanwhile, things were bustling at Laparkan. According to Managing Director Oscar Phillips, they are very busy and the warehouse is overwhelmed for space. He said the only modification made is that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) through Customs applied one flat rate to personal effects, but that varies depending on the size of the box or barrel and ranges from $4,000 to $1,500. Phillips said that almost all of the Christmas cargo had been placed in the warehouse and customers were going in to clear them.
He said that they have introduced a new service called Extended Persona-lized Service (EPS). This service, he said, will take care of everything and deliver the item to the customer’s door and he anticipates 100% success with the service. Laparkan will be open today until 3.30pm.
