THE blockade of French ports and roads by French truckers is costing Irish exporters more than £3 million a day in lost sales. With some 400 trucks stuck in France, Irish hauliers have lost about £1.5 million so far.
The dispute between French truckers and their employers is entering its 10th day with no sign of a resolution. There were fears last night that the dispute could escalate as French transport unions called for solidarity action.
Calling for a day of action the communist-led CGT trade union, said it was in the interests of all workers and unions "to create conditions for the truckers to obtain satisfaction".
As the French dispute worsened and a new one involving Danish truckers blocked borders between Denmark and Germany, there is concern that lost and cancelled, orders could lead to lay-offs at Irish companies.
"Losses will snowball" if the dispute is not resolved this week, the president of the Irish Road Haulage Association, Mr Jimmy Quinn, warned. But there was some comfort for Irish hauliers last night when the French government announced that foreign lorry drivers caught in the dispute could make compensation claims for losses.
Some Irish truck drivers are stranded in Calais, where hundreds of lorries from various, European countries stretch for one mile. Some of the drivers were preparing last night to try to reach Britain through the port of Zeebrugge in Belgium. Many of them are carrying perishable goods which, they say, must reach their Irish destinations within the next two days.
Mr Noel Moore, of Tinryland, Co Carlow, said he did not want to risk the tyres of his lorry being burnt by the French truckers, but he felt that he had no other option, but to attempt the drive to Zeebrugge. "I am thinking of taking the D roads to avoid the blockades of the main routes, but I don't know if I'll make it or not," he said.
The Irish Business and Employers' Confederation warned that Ireland's competitiveness as a trading nation could be severely damaged because of the inability to deliver products to customers.
Irish exporters have been unable to get their products to markets in France and Spain. Worst hit are companies selling live, fresh or perishable produce into markets in those countries where the time taken to get to the market is crucial.
These include dairy and cheese companies, producers of fresh and prepared fish and other foods and exporters of meat and live animals. But exporters of drink, chemicals and computers have also been affected.
About 10 per cent of Irish exports go to France, with sales of about £3 billion expected this year. Some 98 per cent of Irish exports by volume and 75 per cent by value leave the State through seaports. Well over one-third of exports to France are perishable, or temperature-controlled products, according to the Irish Road Haulage Association.
France is one of the top five markets for a wide range of Irish produce, mainly perishable food, meat and fish.
Some 85 per cent of Irish lamb exported is sold on the French market. French buyers are only interested in fresh lamb so loads that do not make it to their destinations on time cannot be sold. Crabs or lobsters, normally exported live to French markets, only make half the price if they are dead on delivery.
As well as the immediate impact on fresh-food exporters, there is concern that exporters of chemicals and other raw materials may suffer cancelled orders as French processors fail to get their own goods to markets because of blocked motorways.
The dispute will affect imports from France and Spain into the Irish market. If the dispute continues satsumas and grapes from Spain are expected to be in short supply in the Irish market at Christmas.