Truck drivers and sugarcane producers in southern Tucumán province are struggling to transport a record harvest due to severe road deterioration.
This infrastructure failure threatens the flow of agricultural goods to markets and puts the physical safety of transport workers at risk. If the logistics chain collapses, the economic gains from the record-breaking yield could be offset by waste and increased transport costs.
The crisis is centered on Ruta Nacional 33 and various secondary roads in the region. Heavy vehicles transporting agro-production must navigate pavement that is in very poor condition, while some bridges have collapsed entirely. This instability endangers hundreds of lives [2] as drivers attempt to move massive loads over unstable ground.
Environmental factors have exacerbated the decay of the provincial infrastructure. Annual precipitation reached 1,430 mm [1], with the heavy rainfall contributing significantly to the erosion of the road network. The lack of consistent maintenance has left the secondary roads unable to support the weight of the current harvest season.
Sugarcane producers in the south of the province said the state of these secondary paths has made it difficult to extract the harvest from the fields. The combination of record rainfall and neglected infrastructure has created a bottleneck that affects the entire regional supply chain.
Drivers operating on Ruta Nacional 33 said the roads are in a state of total disrepair. The current conditions force transporters to take risks with their equipment and safety to ensure that the record agro-production reaches its destination during the 2024 reporting period [1], [2].
“This infrastructure failure threatens the flow of agricultural goods to markets.”
The situation in Tucumán highlights a critical gap between agricultural productivity and infrastructure investment. While the region achieved a record harvest, the inability to move those goods safely indicates that environmental stressors—such as extreme rainfall—can quickly neutralize economic gains if the transport network is not resilient. This creates a systemic risk where producers are vulnerable to market losses despite high yields.
