In Mendoza, a situation that occurred in late March and early May is repeated: the shortage of diesel in service stations. Photo: Ignacio Blanco / The Andes
“I had to go seven service stations find the diesel, “complained Mario, a waiting truck driver a queue of three blocks loading fuel into a Shell, from Guaymallén, in Grande Mendoza. The lack of diesel has reached a limit where many outlets are located application of dues for customers and cash payment only.
There is no diesel at most YPF petrol stations in Mendoza. And in others, such as Axion, they sell fuel up to a share of 5 thousand pesos and in cash, per customer. I have diesel just for two more days and it worries me not being able to go to work “said Andrea, who has a utility truck to deliver eggs to companies.
“The truth is that there is no petrol anywhere, we don’t know what to do. It’s a waste of time, if we don’t work we won’t produce,” said Oscar, a truck driver who transports loads in Santiago de Chile.
Through Mendoza passes the main corridor to the Pacific. It passes through the international tunnel Cristo Redentor-Los Libertadores an average of 1000 trucks per day. The final destination of the carriers is the Chilean port of San Antonio.
The devaluation of the peso relative to other currencies has have benefited carriers from other countries when loading fuel in Argentina. is It is common for truckers from Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia and Chile to choose to fill up in Mendoza, because fuel is much cheaper than in their countries.
The complaint about the lack of diesel is a constant in recent months by the Association of Truck Owners (Aprocam). “This is not solved as long as no fuel is imported; the diesel produced here not enough for self-consumption, ”said the carrier’s association treasurer, Carlos Messina.
The leader said that the only solution is in the hands of the nation state. “YPF is the state and has most of the diesel supply, but private companies like Shell and Axion are in the same situation, they all follow the state. The only way to solve the problem today is to import fuel, there is nothing else ”.
Messina has ruled out that the companies are stopped due to lack of fuel, but admitted that there are queues at stations throughout the province. “The truck loads what it can at any station that has space, and this is a waste of time and efficiency for companies” She said.
In Mendoza, a situation that occurred in late March and early May is repeated: the shortage of diesel and the imposition of quotas at service stations. Photo: Ignacio Blanco / The Andes
“The North has no fuel”
The concern extends to other provinces which are in full harvest. The governor of Salta, Gustavo Sáez, exploded against the national government. “If the center of the country ran out of fuel, it would be national news. The North has no fuel e no one has found out. We have an obligation to inform the country that Argentina is out of fuel, ”she complained.
“They told us ‘in a week the supply problem will be solved’; this was 20 days ago and we are getting worse and worse. We want them to tell us how this problem will be solved, if they will solve it and if they intend to solve it, but that we tell people the truth, ”Sáenz insisted.
Queues to load diesel in Mendoza. Photo: Ignacio Blanco / The Andes
On Wednesday, Chief of Staff Juan Manzur announced that more fuel will be imported. “We met with the governors of the northern region of ten provinces and discussed multiple issues of regional economies, work to improve logistics and reduce costs, and a fuel shortage was expected“said the official.
And he assured that the problem will be solved: “Forecasts and dollars are needed bring all the diesel you need with you so that Argentina can move forward with all its operational capacity “.
According to the Argentine Federation of Commercial Freight Entities (FADEEAC) “, currently, routes 14, 34, 9, 12 and 7 are those that suffer the greatest shortage made of fuel. This affects the production of Jujuy, Salta, Formosa, Tucumán, Misiones, Corrientes, Santa Fe and Entre Ríos.
The Cargo Transport Federation said there is another group of provinces where fuel is zero or very low, up to 20 liters per customersuch as: Mendoza, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Córdoba, San Juan, Buenos Aires and CABA.
Four other provinces remained in yellow, where between 21 and 50 liters per unit are loaded, and between 51 and 100 liters: Catamarca, La Rioja and San Luis, in the first subgroup, and La Pampa, in the second.
Mendoza (correspondent)
NEITHER
Source: Clarin
