Argentines Demonstrate... and Demonstrate

Striking Argentine stevedores in Rosario have brought that export port to its knees over the last week. While workers are waiting to hear from the export terminals about negotiations, the soy bean harvest has already started. Reuters reports that workers in Argentina are costing businesses $US 12.5 million daily. It looks to me like the Argentine workers are on the ball. Bloomberg's reports that soybean futures are up about $.10 a bushel, while soy meal is up nearly $3 per ton. High demand for soy products and a rising market will soon place the grain loading terminals in Argentina in a sticky position, once again demonstrating that you can say what you want about the brilliance of business people and entrepreneurs, but the food doesn't load itself on ships.

For more on labor and export booms, see Charle's Bergquist's oldie-but-goodie, Labor in Latin America. Meat workers were absolutely linked with Peronismo in the day, but I'm not so sure Kirchner's neo-Peronism is being so agressive (NASDAQ reports sound like Kirchner is trying to get labor unions to play ball with business).