Strike slows flow of grains to top Argentine port

* No export disruptions seen thanks to dockside reserves
* Soy, corn growers protest government policies
* Drought-hit farmers say to end strike midnight Tuesday

By Hugh Bronstein
BUENOS AIRES, June 11 (Reuters) - Grain trucks entering
Argentina's main port of Rosario slowed to a trickle o n Monday
due to a five-day-old sales strike by farmers, but exports
remained uninterrupted due to ample dockside reserves.
The sales freeze, set to end at midnight on Tuesday (0300
GMT Wednesday), was called last week by growers angry about
national government agricultural policies and a recent tax
increase in No. 1 soy- and corn-producing province Buenos Aires.
Argentina is a top exporter of both crops at a time of
increasing world demand.
Only 881 trucks entered Rosario in the 24 hours through
mid-morning o n M onday, down from 3,800 on the same day last
year, the Rosario grains exchange said on its website.
About 80 percent of Argentina's farm exports are shipped
from terminals that line the Parana River at Rosario, offering
quick access to the shipping lanes of the South Atlantic.
"There were stocks piled up at the grains terminals before
the strike started. If the strike ends tomorrow, as we expect it
to, there should be no slowdown in the export rate," said
Patricia Bergero, an analyst at the Rosario grains exchange.
As angry as they are about profit-siphoning wheat and corn
export curbs imposed by President Cristina Fernandez and the
land tax hike, farmers were not expected to extend their action
past Tuesday or repeat the huge, 2008 tax protests that
paralyzed the sector.
Many growers are eager to get back to business because they
need cash after a six-week dry spell in December and January cut
into crop yields.
"Aside from the strike, we had a drought that reduced
soybean and corn production," Bergero added. "So anything that
hinders the flow of grains to the market or to the ports is an
issue to be watched."

The 2011/12 harvest, which is nearly collected, was also
punished by May rainstorms that flooded parts of the Pampas
grains belt, bogging down harvesting machines and forcing
growers to leave some of their crops to rot.
Supply concerns and signs that importers are switching from
Argentine to U.S. cargoes due in part to the sales freeze,
helped lift soybean and soymeal futures on the
Chicago Board of Trade last week.
Argentina is the world's top exporter of soyoil, used in the
booming international biofuels sector. It is also the No. 1
supplier of soymeal, used as cattle feed, particularly in China,
where the fast-growing middle class is clamoring for beef steak.
Trading companies with operations in Argentina include
Cargill, Bunge and Noble.
The strike arrived at a time of slowing economic growth in
Argentina, which is being hit by fallout from Europe's financial
woes and slackening demand from No. 1 trade partner Brazil.
So not only grains traders but the financial markets as well
are going to be watching over the weeks ahead for growers'
protests that might hit soy export tax revenue needed by the
government as Fernandez tries to slow capital flight.
Fernandez, who has increased the state's role in the economy
and needs to keep dollars in the country to repay public debt,
said last week that she had decided to lead by example and swap
her own dollar-denominated savings account for a fixed-term
deposit in pesos.