Portuguese companies suffered heavy losses due to quarantine in France

Portuguese freight transport companies are suffering heavy losses due to the blockade by French farmers, a spokesman for the Road Freight Transport Association said this Wednesday, adding that many Portuguese trucks are still stuck in France.

Speaking to Lusa, a spokesman for the National Association of Public Road Freight Transporters (ANTRAM) said the situation is “chaotic” as Portuguese companies are recording large losses.

However, Andre Matias de Almeida stressed that there are no problems with the supply of essential goods, since the vehicles that transport them are exempt. “His passage is cleared,” he said.

“The situation has been going on for a week and a half with interruptions and changes in routes, the losses of these international freight transport companies are growing. Blockades not only delay the unloading of goods, but also delay cargo, in other words, when a vehicle like this unloads, it also loads, which is also delayed.” , – he said.

According to Andre Matias de Almeida, there will be 10 to 15 thousand Portuguese trucks or more in France.

“The information we have remains very worrying, as the last message we received from our French colleague is that no agreement has been reached in negotiations between the unions and the French government. The protest will continue. The march began to block the roads to Paris. There are currently 22 motorways blocked across France and the situation will get worse,” he said.

The ANTRAM representative highlighted the difficulties faced by Portuguese truck drivers due to the constant blockades and the lifting of blockades.

“As this blockade is lifted, drivers are blocked for two to three days and then manage to free themselves, but at the same time there are others who are then blocked. It is difficult to find alternative routes for companies that always use the same route. Never in France has there been such a problem with roadblocks, where the driver had to constantly look for new routes, look at GPS, look at maps,” he emphasized.

An ANTRAM spokesman also said that if the blockade reached Spain and Portugal it would be a “disaster”.

“Such a situation cannot happen in Portugal. Portugal is not even served by roads, highways, national roads, capable of suddenly shifting the number of vehicles for the entire country to alternative roads. This is impossible. If this happens, if this happens, we could face a disaster,” he stressed.

Andre Matias de Almeida also said that if Spain moved forward and joined France with the same size, it would be a “giant loss” for Portuguese companies.

French farmers are blocking several roads in the country to decry falling incomes, low pensions, administrative complexity, inflated standards and foreign competition.

Meanwhile, protests are taking place in Belgium and Spain’s three main agricultural organizations announced on Tuesday they were joining the European farmers’ protest movement, holding a series of mobilizations across the country over the next few weeks.

In Portugal, the National Confederation of Farmers (CNA) will promote regional protest initiatives, including slow marches and demonstrations, to boost incomes in the sector.