In the ports of Greater Rosario, from where a large part of Argentina's agricultural production is exported, less than 700 trucks entered on Thursday.
It is only a quarter of the traffic of a normal day at this time, when the South American country is in the final stretch of the soybean harvest, its main source of foreign exchange earnings.
The reason is the partial strike of truckers, which began last Tuesday in the northern province of Tucumán and has since spread to much of the country.
With mobilizations on the highways and blockades at ports, the transporters demand that the Government of Alberto Fernández take measures against the lack of gasoil, or diesel, and the increase in costs.
Agricultural production has begun to be affected and, if it spreads further, it could generate shortages.
In Buenos Aires fuel is always somewhat cheaper than in the rest of Argentina.
But since three months ago, when diesel began to be scarce, the difference has doubled at some service stations in the north of the country.
Not even paying double is a sufficient guarantee: in the absence of fuel, there is a maximum number of liters – which in recent weeks has ranged between 50 and 250 – that can be loaded.
Planning a trip in these conditions becomes impossible, the carriers explain.
Their costs skyrocket, but what they charge for the trip does not increase at the same time since, if it did, it would put even more pressure on an already uncontrolled inflation, which last May exceeded 60% year-on-year.
The latest FADEEAC survey shows the divergence in the price of fuel according to the geographical area of Argentina.
pic.twitter.com/K00unzkGd9
– FADEEAC (@FADEEAC) June 23, 2022
"There are carriers who are working hard," denounces Santiago Carlucci, leader of Transportistas Unidos de Argentina, one of the organizations that have called for the truckers' strike.
According to Carlucci, some carriers need three or four days to complete the same route they used to do in half the time, with the uncertainty of not knowing where or how much fuel they will be able to load, and other expenses have also skyrocketed, such as tires, which cost 150% more today than a few months ago.
The Government summoned them to a meeting this Wednesday, but the strikers refused to sit down at the dialogue table with second-line officials.
“The strike continues because the problem has not been solved”, anticipates Carlucci.
Truck drivers protest in the Argentine town of San Nicolás due to the lack of diesel and the increase in prices.
MIGUEL LO BIANCO (Reuters)
The strike is not total because for now the large transport federations reject a measure that they consider counterproductive.
Even so, they believe that the decisions that the Government has taken to alleviate the problem are insufficient and do not see a solution possible in the short term.
"Perfect storm"
"We are facing a perfect storm," says Roberto Rivero, executive director of the Argentine Federation of Freight Transport Business Entities (Fadeeac).
For Rivero, there is an adverse international context, in which many countries compete for scarce fuel, which is aggravated by domestic problems.
Among them, the regulation of fuel prices below their international value —which makes it highly desirable in the eyes of neighboring countries—, significant economic growth —0.9% in the first quarter and 6% year-on-year — which has generated greater demand for diesel and the lack of foresight in public policies and infrastructure.
The Argentine government decreed weeks ago that trucks with foreign registration had to pay much more for diesel than Argentine ones to discourage truckers from Brazil, Uruguay and Chile from crossing to the border provinces.
A few days ago, it announced the increase from 5% to 12.5% of the minimum cut of biodiesel for diesel.
Both measures seek to increase the supply of fuel, but for now they have not been enough.
“Between April and September, Argentina traditionally needs to import between 20% and 25% of the refined diesel it needs because it is not self-sufficient.
The local refineries are working at 100% but they don't arrive because the heavy soybean harvest coincides with that of regional crops, such as sugar cane or lemon," Rivero details.
Some economists also suspect that the fear that this winter there would be a shortage of natural gas - and it would be difficult to import it due to the increase in its price due to the war in Ukraine - caused some large industries and agricultural producers to buy more diesel than they needed as a precaution.
Carriers believe that the Government has acted late and insufficiently and call for stronger measures.
Even so, they are confident that the current crisis will begin to subside as of September, when seasonal demand drops.
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