Work resumed at the Port of San Antonio yesterday after reaching a second agreement was reached between workers and the authorities. Details of the new deal were not made public, but unions said it had addressed the concerns that had made them resume strike action following the signing of the first pact on Saturday.
The latest figures given by fruit exporter association Asoex to FreshFruitPortal show that total fruit exports during the duration of the strike, which began on 3 January, were down 24 per cent on the previous year at 136,972 tonnes. However, the association pointed out that the fall was due also to lower production resulting from last September’s frosts. Seafreighted shipments fell by 29.7 per cent to 126,332 tonnes.
At San Antonio, just 1,464 tonnes of fruit were shipped during the strike period, a drop of 97.1 per cent on the previous. Shipments from Valparaiso and Coquimbo rose by 8 per cent and 15.3 per cent respectively.
The strike also caused a surge in airfreight shipments of cherries and blueberries to 2,787 tonnes, a rise of 78 per cent on the previous year.
