The president of CIARA-CEC, Gustavo Idigoras, estimated that exports of more than US$10,000 million will be lost due to the lack of rain. In addition, industry leaders estimated that they will have to import a record volume of grain to supply the soybean milling industry.
“The drought is hitting us very hard. It is the worst in the last three years. He took the summer crops first. Now the first class corn has been lost and the prospect of the sharp drop in soybeans and corn is going to lead the sector to lose exports for US$10,000 million,” said the businessman, in statements made last weekend .
Another factor that may have affected the February settlement is the completion of the soybean dollar 2 which meant the advancement of sales during December.
On the other hand, the entities recalled that the monthly foreign exchange incometransformed into weights, It is the mechanism that allows producers to continue buying grain “at the best possible price”.
Foreign currency settlement is fundamentally related to the purchase of grains that will later be exportedeither in its same state or as processed products, after an industrial transformation, CIARA-CEC said in a statement.
The oilseed-cereal complex, including biodiesel and its derivativescontributed 48% of the total exports of Argentina last yearaccording to data from INDEC.
The country’s main export product is soybean meal (14.2% of the total), what is a industrialized by-product generated by this agro-industrial complex, which currently has a high idle capacity, close to 50%.
The second most exported product, according to official statistics, was corn (11%) and the third was soybean oil (6.9%).
Most of the foreign exchange income in this sector occurs well in advance of exports, anticipation that is around 30 days in the case of the export of grains and reaches up to 90 days in the case of the export of oils and protein meals. This anticipation also depends on the time of the campaign and the grain in question, so there are no delays in the settlement of foreign exchange.
In this context of drought, the agrarian federation held a mobilization this Tuesday asking for changes in taxes, the removal of withholdings and greater measures to deal with the lack of water. They also warned that if they do not get a response before March 13, they will organize a march to Congress and the Government House.
Source: Ambito
