The last days were very dizzying for the agricultural sector. In addition to the already known problems, it is now difficult to supply fuel in the core zone, where the demand for gasoil it accelerates thanks to the work of harvesters and trucks that will be essential to convert the grains into the dollars that the economy needs
At an agronomic level, soybeans have the greatest requirement, since when the crop is ready to be harvested, the machines must pass. If this does not happen and rainfall is recorded, the humidity could affect the plant and consequently the grains would lose quality. In short, part of the profitability is lost, which, depending on the state of the batches, can be very tight in itself.
As for the claims for overpricing and shortages of diesel, the first to shout to the sky were the leaders of the Link Table. Last Friday through a statement they highlighted that “diesel has become a scarce resource in different locations in the country.” With the claim of the rural leadership, all the alarms went off and an increase in demand began to be observed.
George ScoppaPresident of the Argentine Federation of Agricultural Machinery Contractors (FACMA) assured in dialogue with Ambit that “there are places where the necessary amount is missing or not delivered. Where the harvest has not started, there are no major problems, but in the core zone, part of La Pampa and some areas of Buenos Aires, deliveries are limited. In Argentina today we are all connected and when such an important input is missing, everyone wants to buy”.
The situation is extremely complex because the field is a great demander of fuel, particularly diesel. A harvester and a tractor consume 1,500 liters per day, which is why many producers or contractors – who move around the country and provide services in different fields with various equipment – choose to request the sale in each of the lots where they are going to work. . This bulk delivery service is the one that, according to the agricultural sector, registers delays. From the Hilario Lagos branch of the Agrarian Federation, in the north of La Pampa, Adolfo Sanchez confirmed to Ambit that as of today there is no provision for the agricultural sector and that “there is talk of an increase of 40%” that could normalize the situation.
Another sector that also requires diesel is that of transporters, who consume even more in proportion than those who harvest. Manolo Lamasreferring to the national level of the cargo transport sector, assured in dialogue with this newspaper that “buying in bulk instead of being a benefit ends up being a problem, because the Government froze prices at the pump but not in delivery by quantity, So at the pump diesel has an average cost of $110 when in bulk it costs $133”.
In the case of trucks, the problem is that prices and conditions change at service stations depending on the loading zone. As Ámbito was able to find out, prices can reach up to $180 a liter if you want to fill the tank of a truck with 700 liters. Those trucks, which must carry the grains to the ports, transport livestock, food or any type of merchandise, are the ones that suffer the highest costs. For this reason one of the federations that groups them (FETRA) called for a national strike for next week.
To reassure the market, in the last few hours the oil company YPF reported through a statement that “it is making its maximum production, import and logistics efforts to sustain the growing demand for diesel in a context of international fuel shortages.” In addition, he highlighted that “the company increased its supply of diesel in the market during the month of March and the first days of April, reaching the highest levels of supply in the last ten years.”
The lack of fuel -or alternatively the overprice- could accelerate the inflationary escalation in the food sector, generating a lower supply of available goods. To cite one case, the farm charges for the next week are conditioned to the availability of fuel and the same thing happens with several production chains.
Source: Ambito
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