Situations vacant

ALMERIA haulage firms are short of lorry drivers.

The problem is neither new nor is it limited to Almeria but J Carrion, based in Huercal de Almeria and one of Andalucia’s leading transport companies, revealed in the Spanish media that the problem has increased in recent weeks.

Fifty drivers based in Huelva are urgently needed for strawberries and other products, said the company’s president Juan Cano.

The Almeria branch of the National Federation of Transport Associations (Fenadismer) confirmed that Europe was experiencing serious problems.

“And Almeria even more so,” admitted spokeswoman Yolanda Aguilar, explaining that 95 per cent of the province’s agro-food exports are sent by road.

Almeria has 3,500 transport firms with 2,000 lorries setting out each day from cooperatives and warehouses, employing 10,000 drivers until recently.

Juan Cano blamed the shortfall on the high cost of taking out a driving licence for a heavy duty vehicle.

“A licence now costs almost €6,000 when in the past it was only necessary to pay an €80 fee,” Cano pointed out. “That’s why driving schools are empty.”