Strike action by truckers in Argentina is having an impact on the number of lorries arriving at the country’s main grain ports, industry sources told AgriCensus.
The indefinite strike action, which started on 15 January, includes intermittent road blockades at some routes across the country.
Around 2,000 independent truck owners and drivers, members of the Transportistas Unidos de la Argentina (TUDA) group, were involved in the latest protest in a series of strikes that had disrupted operations across the sector, AgriCensus said.
“The strike action is currently affecting all grain ports, including the terminals in Necochea and Bahia Blanca, in Buenos Aires province. The transport and security ministries are intervening in this conflict,” one source was quoted as saying.
Another industry source was reported to have said that only 10% of the usual flow of trucks was transporting grain to local ports.
“Today, a total of 300 lorries arrived at grain ports, which compares to a usual daily flow of 3,000 lorries,” the source said.
Freight transport businessmen had partially blocked the Bueno Aires-Rosario highway along with other routes in the south of Santa Fe province, to claim rate increases due to rising costs, AgriCensus reported. They had also blocked access to the underwater tunnel connecting the cities of Santa Fe and Paraná, in Entre Ríos.
TUDA members were also demanding infrastructure improvements at national roads as well as increased security for truck drivers, according to AgriCensus.
