A strike which began on Monday over high fuel prices has brought taxis and buses to a standstill and poses a threat to cocoa exports from the top grower nation as beans are routinely trucked in from plantations to port for shipment.

"There's no (transport) activity here. There are no trucks driving, and everything has stopped," said Ali Lakiss, managing director of cocoa exporting firm SAF-CACAO in San Pedro.

"This morning, police fired tear gas to disperse strikers who had gathered in the city center." Strikes and protests over fuel and other living costs often flare in volatile West Africa. Crude oil is hovering just below 18-month highs and rising fuel prices are heating tensions in neighboring Guinea too.

"The strike is continuing ... there is no agreement with the government," said Loceni Diabate, president of the national federation of drivers told Reuters.

Taxes account for the greater part of Ivorian fuel prices.