Overview
- Export groups said Monday that roadblocks across Buenos Aires Province have eased and Bahía Blanca is loading again, but access to Puerto Quequén has been closed for more than a week.
- The Chamber of Private Commercial Ports estimated the stoppage kept between 700,000 and 1.5 million tonnes off ships and delayed at least 31 vessels, worth about US$450 million in exports.
- The protests began over higher fuel and maintenance costs, and provincial talks produced a 14% reference freight rate that led most transport groups to resume work.
- Unions said the strike lost force after the deal and cargoes were rerouted to Bahía Blanca and Rosario, yet a self-organized group in Quequén continues the blockade and faces claims of threats recorded with the courts.
- A Quequén transporter said drivers accepted a local offer of a 17% increase plus 5% for administrative costs, but he said it was never signed, leaving trucks idle and payments across the farm supply chain on hold.