One of Chile’s leading fresh fruit export terminals, the Port of San Antonio, is almost back to full operating capacity as the nation’s port network gets back on its feet following 12 days of worker strikes, according to local media reports.
Yesterday (Monday 8 April) San Antonio Terminal Internacional (STI) and Puerto Panul, which represent 90 per cent of cargo movement at the port, resumed normal working conditions, Diario Financiero reported.
STI has already discharged 800 reefer containers with fruit for export, the report said.
According to Aldo Signorelli, general manager of the San Antonio Port Company (EPSA), the facility expects to return to normal within “the next few days”.
Currently 200 stevedores remain on strike at San Antonio’s Puerto Central, which represents approximately 10 per cent of the facility’s total operations.
However, the workers on Monday received a similar offer to that accepted by STI, which Signorelli said is hoped will lead to an agreement.
The move follows the resumption of specialised reefer loading at the Port of Valparaíso on Monday.
Chile’s port strikes have been especially damaging for the country’s key export trades: copper, fresh fruit and wood pulp, bringing exports to a standstill for almost two weeks.
For the fruit industry, the stand-off led to a harvesting suspension from last Friday onwards (5 April), as losses reached millions of dollars.
