By Jorge Otaola
BUENOS AIRES, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Argentine oilseed workers and grains inspectors continued a more than week-old on strike on Friday, bogging down soymeal production and agricultural exports with no sign that a wage deal might be reached in the short term.
Soymeal manufacturing and export companies have been in talks with oilseed workers' unions over a 2021 wage contract. Both sides accuse the other of intransigence in the talks.
"We are requesting that they stop the strike and come back to the negotiating table as soon as possible. No answer so far," said Gustavo Idigoras, head of Argentina's CIARA-CEC chamber of exporters and oilseed crushing companies.
Also on strike is the Urgara union of grains inspectors needed to keep crops flowing from Argentina's export ports.
"There is nothing new regarding negotiations. It does not look like anything will happen until next week," a spokesman for Urgara told Reuters.
The work stoppage has affected shipments from the world's top supplier of soymeal livestock feed used to fatten cattle, hogs and poultry from Europe to Southeast Asia. Strikes are common in Argentina, where employers are hard-pressed to grant wage hikes in line with high inflation.
Consumer prices rose 3.2% in November alone and 30.9% in the first 11 months of the year, according to official data.
Agricultural products are Argentina's main source of export dollars needed to help keep the country solvent amid a long recession exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With soy and corn, Argentina's two main cash crops, now being planted, December is not peak export season. (Reporting by Jorge Otaola, Writing by Hugh Bronstein, Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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Argentine oilseed workers strike goes into the weekend, exports affected - Successful Farming
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