(Recasts to show talks on ending standoff set for this afternoon.)
BRASÍLIA/SÃO PAULO, May 23 (Reuters) - The Brazilian government and a group representing truck drivers were due to meet on Wednesday to try to negotiate an end to trucker protests this week over diesel prices that have affected transportation of goods ranging from auto parts to animal feed.
The two sides would meet in the afternoon at the office of Eliseu Padilha, President Michel Temer's chief of staff, said a spokesman for ABCAM, which represents the protesters.
The talks will be the first such meeting since truckers began partially blocking roads in several states on Monday to protest a rise of about 50 percent in fuel prices in less than a year.
ABCAM scheduled a news conference for 5 p.m. (2000 GMT) in Brasília to discuss the outcome of talks with the government.
The government had no comment.
State-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA on Wednesday announced the second reduction this week in diesel and gasoline prices - part of the company's new policy of announcing almost daily adjustments to reflect variations in global oil prices and foreign exchange rates.
Since the truckers' protects started, Petrobras and the government have denied that there has been any political interference in the company's pricing decisions.
Temer's government said on Tuesday it would propose a reduction in the PIS/Cofins tax on diesel fuel in an effort to end the trucker protests.
That followed an initial proposal this week to cut only the separate CIDE fuel tax, which truckers complained accounted for only a fraction of the taxes on diesel fuel.
House Speaker Rodrigo Maia said late on Tuesday that the government was including the PIS/Cofins cut in a proposed law that would also boost payroll taxes, adding that the plan would be put to a congressional vote next Tuesday.
According to Petrobras, state and federal taxes make up 29 percent of the final price of diesel paid by the consumer. The average retail price of diesel is currently 3.595 reais per liter.
Brazil is a key global supplier of grains, meat, coffee and sugar most of which reach ports by road. Soy futures rose in Chicago on Tuesday for a second straight day as the protests threatened to halt shipments of Brazil's record soybean harvest.
Brazil's third largest poultry and pork processor, Cooperativa Central Aurora Alimentos, said on Tuesday it planned to halt operations at 15 plants in the country on Thursday and Friday because of the road transport snarls. (Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello, Pedro Fonseca, Alberto Alerigi Writing by Ana Mano Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Frances Kerry)