In this framework, from the entity’s economic area they warned that “the productive and market part are the most affected. In the area where there may be production, prices rise but due to a shortage, and in other areas the drought is affecting the reduction of planted areas compared to previous campaigns”, according to the technician Silvina Campos Carlés, who added: “There are also stocks decreased or not so recovered, except in livestock, where a little more stock is expected but in the future. With regard to the local market, the consumer is not validating increases in quantities and at the international level no significant increases in values are foreseen”.
In this regard, the president of Coninagro, Elbio Laucirica, also expressed himself, who gave an overview of the productive activities monitored by the entity: “90% of our regional economies are in crisis, not only due to drought, but also due to inclement weather climatic conditions as a whole such as hail and frost, but in addition to these temporary or circumstantial factors, we once again fall back on the lack of sustainable public policies that grant predictability. In this way, we are not taking advantage of the opportunities that the world demands and requires, such as biofuels and healthy foods produced in sustainable environments”, remarked the producer from Rauch.
Looking ahead in the sector, they warn that the drought came to further complicate the scenario of the regional economies that had already been showing a decline in the quantities exported. According to the Export Monitor of Regional Economies (MEER), prepared by the Argentine Confederation of Medium Enterprises (CAME) based on data produced by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC), the year 2022 closed with growth in the exports of the regional economies of 2.6% in dollars, but a decrease of 6.4% in tons, which represents a year-on-year drop of 421 thousand tons in the volumes sold.
In any case, with this increase, regional productions reach US$7,392 million exported in the period January-December 2022, having imported US$1,331 million, which results in a trade surplus of US$6,061 million. , 2.7% less than in 2021. Meanwhile, in 2023, not only a drop in production is expected, but also a decline in the international prices of many products that have a clearly export profile.
Meanwhile, some activities such as peanuts are directly demanding the elimination of withholdings on exports, but others that turn a large part of their production to the local market are requesting direct assistance measures and soft loans for the affected producers.. Within this framework, the Government has already launched a battery of measures for those areas affected by the agricultural emergency and promised to continue working to directly reach small and medium-sized producers with non-refundable funds.
Source: Ambito
