On 19 March 2025, in Aguahi (Santa Cruz), a group of transporters and agriculture producers carried out a demonstration by taking control over a toll in the municipality and prevented the collection of tolls, demanding fuel supply and denouncing the lack of fuels is affecting their farming activities. The group argued the collection of tolls would be normalized, once the supply of fuel has been resumed in the region.

Supply-chain Risk Briefing: Bolivia Santa Cruz Fuel Supply Disruption Protests

1) Summary On March 19, 2025, transporters and agricultural producers in Aguaí, Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia, staged peaceful protests by occupying toll collection points to protest fuel supply shortages. The demonstrators declared they would suspend toll collection until fuel supply normalizes, claiming that fuel shortages are severely impacting agricultural activities.

2) Supply-chain impact

• Agricultural logistics disruption: Santa Cruz Department is Bolivia's largest agricultural region, with fuel shortages directly impacting production and export of major crops including soybeans, corn, and sugar
• Land transport paralysis: Occupation of toll collection points has blocked regional freight transport networks, causing delays in logistics for agricultural products and other goods
• Fuel supply-chain vulnerability: If Bolivia's overall fuel supply shortage persists, impacts could spread to other industries including mining and manufacturing
• Export competitiveness decline: Rising fuel costs and increased logistics expenses raise concerns about weakened international market competitiveness of Bolivian agricultural products

3) Watch points

• Need to track Bolivian government's fuel supply normalization measures and progress in resolving protests
• Required monitoring of protest spread to other areas within Santa Cruz Department and logistics disruptions during agricultural harvest season