Strike suspends grain exports in Argentina

A national strike in Argentina on Wednesday, May 29, halted work in the country’s main grain ports, as well as bringing airports to a standstill.

The strike, called by the main unions in Argentina, aimed to protest against the austerity measures adopted by President Mauricio Macri.

The popularity of the center-right leader has been hurt by high inflation, unemployment and weak currency (peso).

According to Reuters, grain exports stopped at the Port of Rosario, one of the most important agro-industrial regions in the world. As a result, trade between Argentina and other countries was practically non-existent.

The following chart, with data from the Argentine Subsecretariat of Markets, shows the export of grains from the main ports of Argentina from January 2015 to February 2019.

This is not the first time that exports from the Port of Rosario have been interrupted. In February 2018, trucker owners went on strike briefly to attempt to force the adoption of minimum grain hauling rates.

At the time, the strike also affected the operation of grain mills in the province of Santa Fe, where 80% of the country’s agricultural exports are processed, transported and loaded onto ships.

With 6.8m tons of soybean exports in 2018-19, Argentina ranks third in this category, behind Brazil and the United States, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Source: Reuters

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