Argentina union workers block access to all ports around Rosario

Argentinian workers of the union UOCRA have blocked access to all ports around Rosario on Wednesday following after a protest...

Argentinian workers of the union UOCRA have blocked access to all ports around Rosario on Wednesday following after a protest that started early on Tuesday in Molinos Agro spilt over to impact wider port activity, industry sources have told Agricensus.

“The strike started on Tuesday morning in the port of Molinos Agro in the north of Rosario, but it had extended to other ports by the evening, affecting several ports,” an Argentinean industry source told Agricensus.

It is understood that the ports of San Martin, San Lorenzo and Timbues are being affected by the protest action, affecting several port terminals.

The protest follows worker’s union strike activity that started on Tuesday morning, when the workers of UOCRA blocked access to the installations of the exporter Molinos Agro, located in the Up River hub city of San Lorenzo.

Workers were demanding a bonus for subcontractors that provide a yearly maintenance services to export plants.  

“The industry is used to these sort of protests unfortunately,” a second Argentinean trade source told Agricensus.  

But blocking other ports will impact export activity in the key export hub of the Up River complex. 

“Not letting trucks in with primary products [to be processed and exported] makes the ports inoperable,” said the first industry source.  

Tuesday’s protest led to all trucks carrying grains and other commodities into Molinos Agro being stopped, with the company only able to process volumes held in stock, while all the daily arrivals were cancelled, according to local press reports.

Union workers are demanding a ‘stoppage premium’, an extra payment for subcontractors that carry out yearly maintenance at plants, and is triggered when a production line is stopped to undergo cleaning, maintenance and adjustment.

Argentina is one of the key exporters of agricultural commodities globally, trading corn, wheat, soyoil and meal, animal feed amongst other commodities. 

What to read next
Investors in the US corn and wheat markets amassed shorts in the week to Tuesday May 13, moving corn from a net long to a net short for the first time since October, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed late on Friday May 16.
The UK’s domestic bioethanol industry could be at risk as a result of the recent trade deal announced between the UK and the US, industry members have warned.
Brazil could reach a share of as much as 7 million tonnes per year in China's distillers dried grains (DDG) and distillers dried grains with soluble (DDGS) markets following an agreement between the two countries that allows Brazilian exports, according to the National Union of Corn Ethanol (Unem).
Read Fastmarkets' wheat market update ahead of USDA report release
US futures moved into positive territory on Wednesday April 30, on bargain buying following double-digit declines observed on Tuesday April 29.
AG-WHE-0019 Wheat Feed wheat FOB Ukraine $/mt (M2) was incorrectly published as $233 per tonne. It has been corrected to $217 per tonne. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated to reflect this change. These prices are part of the Fastmarkets Ags Grains package. For more information or to provide feedback on this correction notice or if you […]