BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s truckers and government officials agreed on Thursday to have a virtual meeting in order to reach an agreement to end a protest by truck owners demanding higher freight rates.
Grains truckers, which move up to 85% of the country’s grains to ports, have been protesting since Monday, which could soon impact grain shipments from one of the world’s largest food exporters. Talks to end the strike on Wednesday failed to make a breakthrough.
Argentina is the world’s No. 1 exporter of processed soy oil and meal, and the No. 2 for corn.
“Efforts continue with the aim of finding a consensus on the truck strike,” the Transport Ministry said in a statement, adding that “at 18 hours (2100 GMT) there will be a virtual meeting between the parties so that they can negotiate and the grains transport strike can be lifted.”
The Federation of Argentine Transporters (FETRA), which represents the truckers, is demanding an increase in grain transport rates to offset rising fuel prices in the past weeks.
The rates had been updated at the beginning of February, in an agreement between transporters, the government and agricultural producers, but Argentina has been dealing with spiking inflation.
Retail prices in the southern country rose by 6.7% in March, accumulating an increase of 55.1% in the last 12 months. Inflation has been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, which raised world prices of raw materials.
FETRA also complains about fuel shortages at a time of increased demand for soybean and corn crops shipments.
(Reporting by Walter Bianchi; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by Sandra Maler)
