Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentine grains trucking activity has rebounded to near normal levels after a major strike last week, according to transport data and port sources, a relief to exporters in the world’s No. 1 shipper of processed soy and No. 2 for corn.
Truckers agreed late last week to end a strike that had paralyzed grains transport in the South American nation and seen the number of trucks arriving at port hit almost zero, right in the middle of the busy soy and corn harvest.
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Agricultural logistics firm AgroEntregas said on Monday morning 4,295 grains trucks had arrived at port terminals. Trucks are the main transport method to bring grains from the farm belt to river and sea ports for export.
“The flow of trucks is back to normal,” Guillermo Wade, head of the Chamber of Port and Maritime Activities, told Reuters.
AgroEntregas said on Twitter that grains transportation was “beginning to stabilize” after the four-day strike last week.
The striking truck owners had been demanding a hike in freight rates to offset rising fuel prices. Some 85 per cent of Argentine grains are transported domestically by truck, mostly to inland ports on the Parana River.
Exporters had warned that the hike in rates could paralyze grains exports once stockpiles at ports had run dry.
According to the Buenos Aires grains exchange, farmers have harvested some 14.4 per cent of the soybean planted area and 19.4 per cent of the area planted with corn. The exchange forecasts a 2021-22 soybean harvest of 42 million tonnes and 49 million tonnes for corn.
— Maximilian Heath is a Reuters correspondent in Buenos Aires.
