25 thousand tons of cherries, equivalent to the cargo of two Cherry Express ships that are leaving for China to start the Chilean fruit season, have been compromised in these three days of truckers' strike. This is the calculation made by the president of the Federation of Fruit Producers of Chile (Fedefruta), Jorge Valenzuela, who on behalf of the entire sector rejects the mobilization and supports the measures to normalize the situation.
“We just started the 2022-2023 season at the Port of Valparaíso this Tuesday, and we expect a very good campaign for early fruit such as cherries and blueberries,” said the union leader, alerted by the impact of the truckers’ strike. “But first we must resolve the logistical knots and this situation only makes the problem much more serious.”
The fruit leader pointed out that emblematic cherry-growing areas in the Metropolitan and O'Higgins regions, such as Paine, Rengo and San Fernando, are overwhelmed by the transportation of these containers, and that a situation of extreme pressure is being seen for producers.
“As the government and unions have said, the truck drivers' demands are totally excessive and that delegitimizes their very positions, some of which, such as the demand for greater security, cannot be mixed with actions that collapse the country.”, Valenzuela reflected.
In this sense, Fedefruta hopes that this strike will come to an end and that order and conversation will be reestablished with real expectations, in order to effectively reach solutions without putting the country at risk.
