BUENOS AIRES, AREGENTINA — Grain inspectors and oilseed workers in Argentina said they will extend their wage strike that started last week as contract negotiations stalled, Reuters reported.

“We are going back and forth in the media with the export sector, explaining our positions,” Pablo Palacio, a URGARA official, told local radio. URGARA is the union representing port-side grain inspectors.

The CIARA-CEC chamber of export companies has urged the unions to return to negotiations, Reuters said.

While December is not a high export season in the country, it is a bad time for international shipments to be slowed down, the news agency said. The stoppage has hurt activity in Rosario, which handles about 80% of Argentina’s agricultural exports.

The Chamber of Private Commercial Ports (CPPC) has denounced what it called “incessant and surprising” strikes.

In the first 10 months of the year, Argentina shipped 20.3 million tonnes of soymeal and 4.7 million tonnes of soybean oil for a total $9.92 billion, Reuters said.