Strike by Argentine truck drivers paralyzes food exports

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The strike by grain and derivatives truckers in Argentina, who demand for the fourth consecutive day better rates amid rising diesel prices, has paralyzed food exports, agricultural sources warned on April 14.

“The entire agro-export complex is paralyzed. The Argentine economy cannot afford these luxuries,” said Gustavo Idígoras, president of the Chamber of the Oil Industry Center and Cereal Exporters (Ciara-CEC).

Thousands of trucks have stopped moving or parked on the side of the roads in Argentina, the world’s largest exporter of flour and soybean oil and one of the first in foreign sales of wheat, soybeans, and corn, raking in about US$35 billion by 2021, according to official figures.

The crisis erupted in the middle of Argentina’s 2021-2022 agricultural harvest, driven by the rising fuel value under the influence of skyrocketing international prices following Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.

The Federation of Argentine Transporters (FETRA), the strike organizer, said that “agricultural entities deny the real price of diesel that transporters are paying” and demanded an increase in freight rates from agricultural employers.

The government on Wednesday called for a conciliatory meeting of the warring parties – FETRA and the agricultural employers – but the dialogue failed.

A liter of diesel is sold at service stations for ARS 110 (US$0.97), but FETRA denounced that “there is a shortage” and that they have begun charging additional fees that have brought the price to ARS 191. “The strike causes losses of about US$100 million a day, about 200 tons that are not unloaded at the port terminals. We have 50 ships waiting,” Idígoras said.

The businessman admitted that there is not enough diesel for tractors and harvesters. Every day between 3,000 and 4,000 trucks enter the terminals, and only a dozen are entering, Idígoras revealed.