On 19 March 2025, in General Saavedra (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

1) Summary On March 19, 2025, transporters and agricultural producers in General Saavedra, Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia occupied toll collection points in protest of fuel supply disruptions. The protesters declared they would halt toll collection until fuel supplies are normalized, stating that fuel shortages are severely impacting agricultural activities.

2) Supply-chain impact

• Agricultural production disruption: Santa Cruz Department is Bolivia's largest agricultural region, and continued fuel shortages could cause delays in production and transportation of major crops including soybeans, corn, and sugar
• Land transport network paralysis: Occupation of toll collection points restricts traffic on major roads, blocking regional logistics flows and raising concerns about delays in transporting agricultural products and other goods
• Fuel supply-chain vulnerability: Bolivia's nationwide fuel shortage issues could have cascading effects across the agricultural and transportation sectors
• Regional economic activity contraction: Until fuel supply normalizes, regional economic damage is expected due to reduced agricultural productivity and increased logistics costs

3) Watch points

• Need to track the Bolivian government's fuel supply normalization plan and implementation speed
• Need to monitor whether additional protests spread within Santa Cruz Department and the scope of impact on major transport infrastructure