March 6, 2007

 

Argentina grain transport shuts down on trucker strike

 

 

The flow of Argentine sunseed and corn ground to a halt Monday (Mar 5) as the grain truckers' union kicked off an open-ended strike for higher transport fees.

 

Practically no trucks have arrived since last night, the grain storage union said in a release Monday.

 

Protesting truckers had blocked grain transport on at least nine highways and were expected to block access to ports, the storage union said.

 

Strikers are planning to block grain trucks at more than 30 points across the country, said Carlos Di Nunzio, the director of the rural truckers' union, or TRA, according to local press reports.

 

The strike is a protest of frozen rates and new government requirements to update fleets, said Ruben Agugliaro, president of the truckers' union, Catac.

 

Truckers are presently negotiating with grain purchasers over shipping rates, according to Rosario Grain Exchange analyst Lorena D'Angelo.

 

The truckers are seeking to collect fees from exporters and grain processors at the time of delivery, rather than the current system of farmers paying for shipment, D'Angelo said.

 

Catac said that the government's rate structure for grain transport, which sets costs at the same level year round, causes heavy demand for three to four months, with grain transport capacity idling for the rest of the year.

 

The truckers also said that intermediaries pocket the majority of transport costs paid by farmers to move their grain, with only 40 percent to 50 percent  of the amount paid making it to those who actually transport the grains.

 

Agugliaro said that new government requirements to update fleets are impossible to comply with based on the current rate structure.

 

With the sunseed harvest in full swing, farmers are worried about the effects the strike could have on the crop. The corn harvest is also beginning and the soybean harvest season is rapidly approaching.

 

More than 85 percent of the grains produced in Argentina each year are shipped by truck, according to the La Nacion newspaper.