San Francisco: The dockworkers action at Callao in Peru has done real dollar damage to the national economy according to the country’s exporters association Adex.
Adex said on Tuesday it estimates the labour action at the nation’s leading port – on the edge of the capital Lima – has caused the country’s merchants to lose more than $100m.
Labour action began on May 13, prompted by an impasse with operators APM Terminals over the introduction of a new electronic rostering system.
APM terminals, owned by Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk, operates the northern terminal, which handles 75 percent of Callao’s capacity.
The port operators brought in replacement labour, including members of the Peru’s navy, but they could not prevent a decline in performance that saw long lines of trucks awaiting access to the docks.
As of Tuesday much of the port was inactive while 26 ships were waiting to be served and 10 more ships were due to arrive next week.
If not resolved soon, the strike could cause problems in the supply of basic food products said Adex.
