The entity that took the lead was the Rural Society, with its former president Luis Miguel Etchevehere as Minister of Agroindustry at that time. So much so that shortly after the measure became known, they issued a statement in which they detailed: “We echo the President’s message that calls on all Argentines to work together to definitively get the country out of the crisis and end corruption. The field will continue once again, collaborating with any initiative that aims to project our Nation definitively on the path of development.” That is to say, they supported the return of the withholdings.
A little more lukewarm but in any case it was clear the support that President Coninagro provided Carlos Iannizzotto declaring: “We are against retentions, but there is an emergency situation that the field cannot ignore. In emergency situations, the countryside cannot withdraw its support”.
The context and the crisis that the countryside was talking about at that time was after Mauricio Macri agreed with the IMF on a loan for US$50,000 million through which he also promised to lower the deficit and inflation. Two items that were not reached despite the disbursements of the Fund of which today nothing remains.
That is not all, because in 2019, when Macri was still in power, the oil industry continued to demand the return of the withholding differential with a clear justification. The added value is key to the generation of employment and foreign currency in Argentina. Exporting unprocessed grain is not the same as exporting oil or flour. But across the street, the producers were not so in agreement with matching the tribute. In this context, the vice president of the Agrarian Federation, Elvio Guía, was categorical in stating: “We do not agree on a differential of withholdings for the soybean industry, and if it has to be discussed, it should be at another time and not now. If a transfer of resources of that amount of money has to be made, it should not be for the industry, but for the small and medium-sized producers and the regional economies that are having a hard time.”
For his part, the then president of the Rural Society Daniel Pellegrina He also expressed himself along the same lines and requested that before equalizing the tribute in favor of the industry, a reduction in withholdings for regional economies be discussed.
Back in 2022, the rise in withholdings on soy by-products found a categorical rejection from the entire sector. From the producers, through ruralism, to the industry. The difference is obvious and it seems to be who governs. Leaving aside the current context, very different from that of 2018. That is, after a pandemic, renegotiating a million-dollar debt with the IMF and in the midst of the pressures generated by the war between Russia and Ukraine for the world commodity market.
Finally, and to clear up any doubts, the current president of the Rural Society, Nicholas Pine, He went further by declaring days ago that the measure generated rejection among the rural sectors not so much because of the rise but because it is “a decision made by this Government.”
Source: Ambito
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