Argentine Industry Claims Strikes Halted Exports
UK - Argentine meat industry sources said that beef shipments had been halted amid a 20-day-old farm strike that has emptied butchers' counters in a country where steak is an everyday staple.
2 April 2008
1 minute read
However, an e-mailed statement from the government's customs agency later denied beef exports had been suspended, saying officials had simply been checking documents related to shipments.
According to the Guardian, since starting their strike on March 13, Argentina's ranchers have refused to send cattle to market, leaving meatpacking plants dependent on ever-dwindling stocks.
"They didn't let them load beef containers and (the goods) were sent back to meatpacking plants," Jorge Srodek, a leader of the CARBAP farm association, told local television.
Two other industry sources, who asked not to be identified, also said shipments had been halted. One of the sources faxed Reuters a copy of a customs note sent to a private port company that prohibited the loading of beef exports.
TheCattleSite News Desk
