Argentine customs workers are due to strike in three days' time over a pay dispute, adding to the woes of apple growers who have been hit hard by economic conditions this season.

The union, Supara, last week decided it would carry out striking activities on July 10, 16 and 17, for the entirety of those working days.

Supara believes customs workers have been unfairly excluded from the Federal Administration of Public Revenue's (AFIA) salary increases, which were given to other public sector workers.

Supara blamed the country's Ministry of Economy for not authorizing the wage boost.

"Ministry of Economy officials denied our right to collective bargaining, in a clear lack of understanding of what had already been agreed," Supara said.

"They contravened the salary policies that were implemented by the National Government and always recognized by the worker unions."

Supara's National Panel of Delegates urged authorities to comply with the earlier agreement to avoid conflict, and said further action would be taken if a solution was not found.

200 million rotting apples

News of the customs worker strikes will be one of the last things pome fruit exporters will want to hear, as it was recently estimated that 200 million apples in a key production region were rotting on trees due to the dire economic situation.

Website Mdzol.com reported a quarter of Rio Negro's 48,000 hectares of apple orchards had gone unharvested.

"It has been impossible to carry out the whole harvest and for many it's also been impossible to prune," Rio Negro and Neuquen Fruit Growers Federation president Jorge Figueroa said.

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