Bulker operations in Argentina have been disrupted by a 24-hour strike by grain inspectors.
The industrial action hit shipments on Monday at all the terminals at the port of Rosario, upriver from Buenos Aires, in a dispute over tax levels.
More walkouts have been lined up this week.
Ports organisation CAPyM said the strikes relate to what it claims are high taxes applied to workers’ salaries.
The strike “is affecting absolutely all the ports (in Rosario). They are all stopped as a result of the Urgara strike,” Guillermo Wade, head of CAPyM, told Reuters.
He said the walkout stopped vessels being loaded.
Argentina is the world’s top exporter of soybean oil and meal, the third largest in corn and a key supplier of wheat.
The dispute comes as inflation stands at more than 104%, hitting the value of salaries.
“The strike will last all day, and more stoppages will take place throughout the week,” the Argentine Maritime, Port and Shipbuilding Federation said in a statement on Monday.
Other action will take place at Dock Sud ports and the Zarate-Campana corridor on Wednesday.
The Rio Santiago shipyard will be closed on Friday, the group added.
Other “impromptu” walkouts will also occur.
Foreign currency needed
The holdup in exports will hit the influx of foreign currency into Argentina.
Money is needed to build up falling foreign reserves as part of a $44bn loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund.
A union source promised to escalate the action if there is no response from the state, Reuters reported.
In 2021, a 48-hour strike by tugboat captains and others backed up agricultural exports at Rosario.
And in 2022, truck unions held a widespread protest over fuel price hikes and diesel shortages that also disrupted the terminals.
