September 3, 2008

Argentina truckers picket grain ports in pay dispute

Argentina's truckers are picketing the country's leading grain-export ports to press for increased compensation.

The protests began last week in Rosario, but they have since spread to ports in Buenos Aires and Bahia Blanca, according to local daily El Cronista.

The latest pickets by truckers diminished the flow of grain to the leading port complexes, but they haven't totally shut down transport to the docks.

This morning, 2,875 grain trucks made it to the numerous port complexes lining the banks of the Parana River, down from 4,114 trucks on the same date a year ago, according to the Rosario Grain Exchange.

The number of trucks arriving over the past five days has averaged 3,366, down from 4,658 during the same period a year earlier, according to the Exchange.