Brazilian transport companies and independent truck drivers protesting high taxes on diesel fuel have created road blocks along highway BR 163, restricting deliveries of corn and soy shipments to crushers and ports from the state of Mato Grosso, the country’s leading corn and soybean producing state.
A silo manager for a multinational grain trader in Mato Grosso speaking under anonymity, stated that only deliveries to local silos were being allowed – all other commodity movement was stopped, and if the blockade continues for days more, it will have an effect upon the industry.
The blockade which began on Wednesday February 18 has since escalated causing soy and corn trucks to line the sides of the highway, however the truckers are allowing non-commodity-related vehicles such as public transportation and passenger cars to pass. The protestors state that the blockade will continue indefinitely until the Brazilian government shows signs of willingness to reduce the tax rate on diesel fuel.
The country’s grain producers association, Aprosoja, released a statement saying that the trucker’s complaints were understandable, however reinforced the country’s need for a reliable transportation system at the height of a record crop harvest.
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