Argentine transportation firms ended a strike that partially affected grains supply to Buenos Aires province ports, a truck owners group said Thursday.
Argentina’s Transport Federation (FETRA) went on an indefinite strike on Wednesday and stopped sending trucks to grain export ports, demanding a guaranteed minimum tariff for transporting cargo.
FETRA had said earlier that if the demand was not met, it would extend the protest to Rosario, possibly delaying shipments from one of the world’s largest grains ports, which serves as the main exit point for Argentine soy.
But on Thursday, the group said it would meet with provincial government officials next week to negotiate a minimum rate paid to shippers.
«We have lifted the measure,» the group said in a statement. «Let’s get to work truckers and authorities, we have an important week ahead.»
The agriculture trade is especially vulnerable to transportation strikes since about 80 percent of Argentina’s grains harvest is shifted to port by road.
Grains exporters Cargill [CARG.UL], ACA and Louis Dreyfus, among others, operate in Bahia Blanca and Quequen, Argentina’s second- and third-largest grain ports.
Agricultural exports from the South American country are often hit by strikes, which have grown more frequent as workers negotiate steep pay rises that they say are needed to compensate for double-digit inflation.
Source: Reuters