Colombia’s export industry could take a major blow if the trucker strike which started Thursday lasts too long, according to analysts.
“If the strike persists we could encounter problems in supplies to several channels of which we must mention the retail channel pushing prices up and impacting [consumer price inflation] directly,” Andres Jimenez an analyst for Colombia’s Interbolsa brokerage, told Dow Jones newswire Thursday.
Reports say that two-thirds of the 180,000 members of The Association of Colombian Truckers (ACC) began striking at 12:00AM Thursday.
Analysts fear that a strike lasting more than two weeks could cause a supply shortage which could skyrocket goods prices.
According to the report, the coffee and oil industries could be heavily affected because of their reliance on trucks for transportation.
President Juan Manuel Santos rejected the threat to strike by truckers on Wednesday, calling for dialogue to resolve the issue.
Truckers are upset because Santos eliminated an old policy of setting minimum freight rates that truckers receive for each delivery.