SAO PAULO: Striking truck drivers blocked access to major ports in Brazil on Tuesday, raising the specter of critical shortages of basic goods in some cities.
Truck drivers protesting rising diesel and freight rates badly hampered activity at Brazil's largest port of Santos, in Sao Paulo, and likewise Paranagua port, in the south, which is the main departure point for agricultural products.
Only 10 percent of planned shipments for Tuesday were made at Paranagua, according to the G1 Globo news network.
Thousands of tons of grain was also left languishing at Rondonopolis rail terminal in Mato Grosso, in west-central Brazil.
Ten states in all saw road blocks after the protests spread.
The government of President Dilma Rousseff will host emergency talks on Wednesday with affected parties but vowed it would not discuss the price of diesel.
"The central issue is the price of freight," said Miguel Rossetto, presidential chief of staff.
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