Trade and food industry warn strike at Silopor threatens supplies

Organizations representing trade and the food industry warned this Monday that the strike in Silopore “threatens” food supplies “again” by blaming the stoppage on Alexandra Reis shipments, the statement said.

In the same note, the organizations recalled that “the workers of Silopor – Empresa de Silos Portuários, SA are on strike for overtime until the end of February”, adding that “the situation affects the sectors of bread, animal feed, pigs and poultry”.

“The fact that this happened in the wake of a port administration strike exacerbates the agri-food chain’s access to essential raw materials for the production of milk, bread, meat and eggs,” they warned, stressing that “institutions from these sectors advocate new price increases and periodic cessation of the supply of these goods to some retail outlets.”

The associations ACICO (National Association of Wholesalers, Traders and Importers of Cereals and Oilseeds), APIM (Portuguese Association of the Flour Industry), IACA (Portuguese Animal Feed Association), FEPASA (Portuguese Federation of Poultry Associations) and FPAS (Portuguese Federation of Pig Producers Associations) are also stated that “this strike was caused by the decision of the former Secretary of State [do Tesouro]Alexandra Reis, who put into effect an order preventing the increase in employees of state-owned enterprises during liquidation, a situation in which Silopor has been for more than twenty years.”

According to these organizations, “the removal of the measure in question represents an ‘impact’ of approximately 7,000 euros per month.”

“The ongoing strike since the beginning of the month is already causing delays in the unloading of large ships with imported grains, on which Portugal depends for more than 80% to provide its industry with food for people and animals. Importers receive about 50,000 euros per day. delays,” they said.

According to the associations, at the port of Trafaria, “the only terminal in the country prepared for the unloading and storage of raw materials transported by large grain ships,” the daily unloading rate “has increased from 11,000 tons per day to 5,000 tons.”

“This situation could affect the delivery of basic foodstuffs to the public, given that under normal conditions, the area served by this terminal includes feed and livestock enterprises, which consume about 9,000 tons of feed cereals per day,” the organizations warned.

This strike is threatening, they highlighted not only the “possible interruption of supplies and the projected increase in product prices” but also the “causing damage to economic operators of about three million euros due to delays in unloading.”

“These inflated costs are bound to reverberate all the way down to the final consumer,” said Jaime Pizarra, IACA Secretary General, quoted in the same note.