The Spanish government has promised to help reduce the affects of high diesel prices after fishing crews and truck drivers went on strike in a protest over fuel costs.

After a meeting with the main trucking organisation and the regions on Tuesday, transport minister Raquel Sánchez announced an aid of €500 million to help combat high diesel prices.

Details of the help would be decided by Tuesday next week, but the government rejected a reduction in VAT.

Protesting truck drivers on Monday forced the Volkswagen plant in Pamplona in northern Spain to suspend production.

“There is a shortage of supplier parts. The action is for one day but means that 1,438 vehicles cannot be produced,” a VW spokesperson said.

The Polo, T-Cross and Taigo vehicle models are produced at the plant in the province of Navarra.

According to media reports, other industries in Spain have also been forced to reduce their activities due to a lack of supplies, with the supply of fresh food partially affected.

Roads and distribution centres have been blocked in the protests, which started a week ago. They are being led by a grouping of goods transporters who represented only a small part of the Spanish transport sector.

The umbrella organisation of Spanish trucking companies, CNCT, had spoken out against the protests.

However, the association warned that this position would change if the government did not take “immediate measures” to alleviate the effects of high fuel prices on businesses.

Meanwhile, the fishing strike is expected to last until Wednesday, according to the Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives (FNCP), which represents some 40,000 members, 9,000 of which are ship owners.

Spain is the second-largest fishing nation in Europe after Norway.

On Wednesday, representatives of fisher crews and shipowners would meet with Luis Planas, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, to discuss other ways to mitigate the effects of high fuel costs.

On Monday, many fishing fleets from Andalusia and the Mediterranean coast took part in the strike, while on the Canary Islands in the Atlantic and northern Spain, the participation was weaker.

(dpa/NAN)