MADRID, 20 (EUROPA PRESS)
The Panama Canal will earn approximately $400 million (€342.9 million) less next fiscal year than it did this year, which ends September 30, due to a decrease in tolls collected, leaving total revenue at $5.207 billion (€4.464 billion).
The waterway's administrator, Ricaurte Vásquez, stated in a press conference that the projected decline in commercial traffic is due to the current context, marked by the economic slowdown and the trade war launched by US President Donald Trump.
"We are experiencing a time of extreme volatility, with high levels of uncertainty that point to a possible decrease in traffic volume through the Panama Canal," Vásquez stated. "As the economy slows, trade volume decreases," he added.
The Canal expects between 1,100 and 1,200 fewer transits than this year, when it expects some 13,900 vessels will navigate this route, carrying 520 million tons of cargo.
Despite the decline in global revenue, the infrastructure sector expects to deliver $3.194 billion ( €2.738 billion ) to the Panamanian government during the next fiscal year, some $400 million more than currently.
