Majorca should escape grip of national truck drivers´ strike

AMIDST fears that consumers may start bulk buying as the national truck drivers strike grips the mainland, the local authorities yesterday claimed that supplies in Majorca are unlikely to be affected. Palma's Health and Consumer councillor, Begoña Moragues, who is also the vice-president of MercaPalma, the main food depot, said that there is enough foodstuffs for four days and that the strike will not lead to a food shortage. Should the strike go on longer than expected, Majorca might perhaps start to feel the pinch, but she stressed that 50 percent of products at MercaPalma, fruit, vegetables, meat and fish are Balearic. Moragues added that, in the event of transport problems hitting imports to Majorca, the first items to suffer will be luxury items and those coming from overseas. Some have already started to run short such as exotic fruits and sea food from the mainland - a few of the fishmongers in the Palma markets have begun to report a shortage in shellfish, especially mussels and clams. But, with regards to basic and local food stuffs, Moragues said she is confident that there will be no problems. The Balearic transport sector has not gone on strike, primarily so the public do not suffer. Most of the main supermarket chains have been making sure that they have plenty of stock just in case. However, while we are not likely to go hungry, there may be a shortage of petrol - some areas of the mainland were left dry last week - and drivers are being urged to try and keep their fuel tanks topped up just in case.