French president Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday ordered all fuel depots to be unblocked by police if necessary, as protests against pension reform continued to grip the country, causing disruption to produce consignments bound for the UK.
Roy Shattell of UK importer Lizcrest said: “We are bringing in salads, lemons and pomegranates from the south of Spain. Drivers are getting through because they are refuelling in northern Spain, but there are some problems with part loads and lorries getting out of Perpignan.”
Leafy salad lines from the south of France appear to be the worst affected and if the situation continues, prices will start to rise.
“We have had to turn down some business as there is no point placing orders, as the product might get delayed and go off before it gets here,” said Kevin Henry of importer Davis Worldwide, adding that customers had been tolerant.
Marc Peyres of French apple exporter Blue Whale said that there had been no major impact on the company's activities, but revealed that vessels had faced delays.
'Getting around the strikes is more complicated to organise and involves more stress,' he told Fruitnet.com, 'but we are much more concerned by the euro-to-US dollar exchange rate.'
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