February 3, 2011

 

Argentinean workers to cease grains ports strike

 

 

Argentina's grains workers will follow a government order to stop a week-long wage strike that has delayed shipments and paralysed soy-processing plants, a union leader said Wednesday (Feb 2).

 

The South American country is the world's top exporter of soyoil and meal and the No. 3 supplier of soy, and the strike has lifted US corn and soy futures even though exports are light in the weeks leading up to soy harvesting.

 

"We'll (comply with the order) for sure because we don't want to break the law," said Edgardo Quiroga, a union leader for the local branch of the CGT union umbrella group.

 

Argentina's government ordered unions late on Tuesday (Feb 1) to suspend the strike for 15 days and hold talks with company bosses. The conciliation order was due to take effect from midday local time (1500 GMT) on Wednesday (Feb 2).

 

However, Quiroga said the union would probably not lift the protest until late on Wednesday (Feb 2) or early Thursday (Feb 3) because union leaders want to study the details of the order and discuss them with the workers in an assembly.

 

Strikers burning tires were still stopping other workers from entering soy-crushing plants around Rosario, where about 80% of the country's soyoil and meal is produced.

 

"We're hoping to reach an agreement that will lead to better wages. We want to go back to work," said port worker Jonathan Isnaldo as he manned a picket line.

 

The strike, which has stopped at least 45 ships from loading, could hurt Argentina's reputation as a reliable food supplier, some industry analysts say.

 

It also highlights the risk of further labour unrest in the coming months as workers negotiate pay rises amid double-digit inflation.

 

"When the harvest's near and we're about to have grains pouring into port, it isn't a good sign that a supplier as important as Argentina has these kind of problems," said Patricia Bergero, an analyst at Rosario grains exchange.

 

The protest has affected export facilities and crushing plants operated by Cargill, Bunge, Molinos Rio de la Plata , Vicentin, ACA, Noble and Louis Dreyfus.

 

They operate in the northern Rosario-area ports of Puerto San Martin, San Lorenzo and Timbues.

 

Analysts say the impact of the strike on booming food prices would have been much bigger if farmers had started gathering soy crops.

 

Early corn harvesting has started in the world's No. 2 exporter of the cereal but gathering does not start in earnest for several weeks.

 

Despite an imminent end to the protest, US soy futures rose at the CBOT, boosted by big demand for beans from China.