A strike by Brazilian truckers over rising fuel costs that has disrupted delivery of key goods over the last two weeks is finished, highway police said Wednesday. Protesting truck drivers had been blocking roads during the strike, but police said that by Wednesday all roads were open, indicating the demonstration was over.
In a statement on their website, police said there were "zero active roadblocks" remaining. At the height of the protest, there were 129 roadblocks, hitting distribution of important foods such as soya - of which Brazil is the world's second largest producer - and leaving some exporters struggling to fill orders.
Eleven of Brazil's 26 states were hit, including the southern regions of Rio Grande do Sul, Parana and Santa Catarina. Last week, officials issued a court order forcing the strikers to end their action. The truckers began their protest on February 18 over fuel price hikes, rising freight costs and shrinking profit margins. One driver was killed when he was run over during a demonstration Saturday in Rio Grande do Sul as a lorry driver opposed to the action tried to break through a blockade.
President Dilma Rousseff agreed Monday to sign a bill to cut toll costs or abolish them for empty trucks and be more flexible over fines for overweight lorries and the payback of loans for lorry purchases. Most freight is carried by road in Brazil, the world's fifth largest producer of foodstuffs, owing to poorly developed rail and waterway infrastructure.
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