Due to the impact of the war, the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, wants the IMF consider when review agreement goals of extended facilities, in particular those of Bookingswhich the agency promised to adjust, add to the difficulties caused by the drought.
From the Government they already refer to the drought as the worst in history, which would imply a significant drop in exports. This will be on the agenda of the meeting between the president Alberto Fernandez and his American counterpart Joe Biden.
In parallel, the Government analyzes implementing once again a differential exchange rate for agro-exporterssimilar to soybean dollar implemented in September and December, to offer more pesos for each currency obtained through the export of the oilseed and possibly other grains, according to off-the-record sources.
It is that from the national government they hope that the producers do not activate the liquidation of grains without a differential regime, which is reflected in the drop in sworn declarations of grain sales abroad, which was 6 times lower during March compared to the same period of the previous year.
The new exchange rate could be available from April to, initially, offer it to producers who have accumulated grains, but later for the new season.
The measure, they added to the newspaper, does not aim to increase production, but to transfer profits to the sector, since they estimate that soybean production will fall by about 25% this year thanks to the drought and little more than US$20,000 million. The objective is to ensure that part of these exports are declared earlier within the differential exchange rate scheme and become US$15 billion to “buy time”in a year that anticipates a decline in reserves.
“There are no small players who have soybeans. What is being saved is in the hands of the big ones ”, they pointed out to him from the monetary authority.
The Secretary of Agriculture, Juan Jose Bahillo, claimed this week in dialogue with Radio 10 the measures announced by the minister to assist producers affected by the drought and that include a series of tax benefits, however he indicated that in the Government “today the immediate decision is not on the table of a soybean dollar”, and pointed out that “different alternatives are being evaluated” for the design of measures to boost regional economies.
In this sense, Massa had anticipated that progress would be made in a new exchange rate for the regional economies, after announcing a scheme of this caliber for wine exporters at the annual breakfast of coviar in Mendoza.
“As of April 1, we will accompany him in all the regional economies, starting with viticulture to recover markets and give them a chance in the face of the loss caused by hail and frost. On April 1, with the exchange rate competitiveness that the State provides for development, we have to have more Argentine wine in the world,” then said the minister.
Source: Ambito
