Argentine trucking companies reached a deal to lift a strike that they had called at the country's main grains hub Rosario.

The work stoppage was called last week but had not been in force long enough to reduce exports from agricultural powerhouse Argentina, which is the world's No. 1 supplier of soyoil and soymeal and its No. 2 supplier of corn.

The FETRA group of trucking companies went on strike to demand a guaranteed minimum hauling tariff in Buenos Aires province.

After failing to reach an agreement with the provincial government, they extended the protest to the Rosario agricultural hub in the neighboring province of Santa Fe.

"We have reached an agreement," Argentina's Transportation Secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi told a news conference, saying that the accord provides for "the implementation of a basic nationwide minimum tariff for the grains transport sector."

Exports had not been slowed by the strike because export companies had enough grains in reserve to keep shipments moving.

Industry sources said last week that more trucks than usual delivered grains to firms in Rosario as a precautionary measure to bolster their already-abundant stocks.

Labor protests are common in Argentina, where double-digit inflation has prompted demands for big pay increases.

In 2008 the farm sector rocked the government of President Cristina Fernandez with massive strikes and roadblocks over a grains tax increase that was eventually rescinded.

Tempers have cooled since then as the government takes a more conciliatory stance toward the sector. Brisk economic growth and high world grains prices have helped keep farmers' protests to a minimum lately.

Fernandez won a landslide re-election on Oct. 23 with help from many farming areas that once voted as a block against her, although many growers continue to complain about soy export taxes and state intervention in corn and wheat export markets.

Grains exporters Cargill, Bunge , Molinos Rio de la Plata , Vicentin, ACA, Noble and Louis Dreyfus operate in Rosario.

The strike had kept grains from being delivered to the smaller ports of Quequen and Bahia Blanca in Buenos Aires province, although exports were not affected. (Reuters)