Trucker protest continues in Argentina

Truckers in Argentina, independent Teamsters, are protesting and blocking roads over increased fuel prices, taxes and highway tolls, MercoPress reported.

The Argentina Cereals Chamber and Commodities Stock Exchange (CIARA-CEC) said the road disruptions could impact the transportation of grains and oilseeds to be exported.

A CIARA-CEC spokesman told MercoPress, “Currently everything is operating, but the terminals only have a certain amount of storage capacity … If the protest extends over time, it will generate problems. There is concern.”

CIARA-CEC also expressed worry of the overall impact the protest could have on the country’s economy as a whole.

“These measures generate economic losses that affect all the links of the agro-industrial production chain and put at risk the supply of the domestic market and processing, as well as impeding the access of trucks with grains to export ports,” CIARA-CEC said.

On Jan. 20, a total of 321 trucks were able to deliver grain to the port, which is 88% less than the average before the protest begun, Mercopress reported, citing the Rosario Chamber of Commerce.

The trucker protest comes about a month after Argentine oilseed workers unions and soy crushing companies signed a new deal to end the 20-day strike. The strike began over oilseed workers wanting better wages, particularly for those who continued to work through the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

WorldGrain

Tags: trucker protest, CIARA-CEC