French strike action since last week was starting to make itself felt on the fresh produce trade as unions entered talks and FPJ went to press on Wednesday.

“A lot of the motorways in France are closed and there are problems with drivers on go-slows and rail trucks not rolling,” said Peter Davis of importer Davis (Louth) Ltd. “It is a bit of a mess and we are bringing salads from Italy via Germany and Belgium where we can, rather than from Spain through France.” The problem is that delicate salad leaves once hydro-cooled are prone to breakdown if they do not reach the market in time. “We have been receiving shipments of tomatoes from Spain, for example, two days late,” added Davis, pictured.

The strikers are protesting over proposed government pension reform and transport union leaders have said that negotiations due to begin with government on November 21 could last up to a month.

So far the strike has not had a great impact on the Spanish business of importer Lisons. “For the moment we have been lucky, but that is not to say that business won’t be affected,” said the company’s John Grieve.

At Almería salads exporter Primaflor, Angela Louvari is also keeping a watchful eye on the situation. “We send product to Perpignan by truck before it is loaded onto a train there and heads for Paris,” she explained. “So far we have only had one consignment arrive late and we have not had any late arrivals into the UK market.”

As FPJ went to press, strike action became more militant with damage to miles of high-speed train track “sabotaged”, according to the state rail operator SNCF.

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