He soybean dollar it became an unwanted tool for producers and even worn out by the rest of the links in the agro-industrial chain. Depending on what it is, you can renege more or less on the proposal that guarantees a differential exchange rate for those who market soybeans and derivatives until May 31.
Beyond the considerations of the case, this Monday (taking the SIO-Grains as a reference) deals were completed for US$146,307,956, a figure slightly below that registered last Friday. The accumulated data based on the MAE (Open Electronic Market) indicates that the soybean chain liquidated up to now US$961,673,753. You could say that The soybean dollar III continues to fly low and that it is difficult for it to catch up if we compare it with the previous editions of the Export Increase Program I and II.
From the point of view of the agricultural producer, measures such as the general soybean dollar have a double impact: on the one hand, they cause rejection and, on the other, resignation before the possibility of improving a business that this campaign has turned into an ordeal. That is why they accepted it in previous editions.
Heraldo Moyetta, president of the Rural Society of Río Cuarto, raised in his own words the same concern expressed by the industry. According to Moyetta, “the big concern is that there is no long-term plan.” That is the debate proposed by the two ends of the productive chain, which in the case of soybeans is the most important in the country due to its generation of foreign currency.
Luis Zubizarreta, president of the Soybean Chain Association (ACSOJA), assured in dialogue with Ámbito: “In addition to having a disastrous production due to the drought, we have a neighbor who has a record harvest and is putting downward pressure on the markets. We have a double clamp, low prices and little production. Even if it’s the hard way, I hope we learn from what happened to us, because this year it will be clear to all of society that when the pitch is in the doldrums we’re not going to have a good time”.
The Government’s proposal with each implementation of the soybean dollar is to generate a window of opportunity for grain holders. No producer will give up $300 for every dollar traded, but it is clear that all within the agricultural scheme -out of this circumstance- dream of the arrival of new incentives for the next campaign. According to Zubizarreta, “those incentives would be on the right track if we achieve a true exchange rate, as occurs in all reasonable economies in the world, where it reflects the market value and is not a drawing that someone puts up to try to generate a sensation of higher price. This is not from now, it comes from 50 years ago. When you try to control the most important variable in the economy by manipulating it and generating a pressure cooker, it always ends badly”.
Many wonder why the soybean dollar does not take the same dynamics compared to previous editions and the reality is that there are multiple causes, some of them from the market; however, it is undeniable that in this third edition there are tensions within the chain. In fact, in recent days, a message circulated in various groups of producers inviting them to try not to sell soybeans until slate prices improve, suggesting that the industry would have a greater ability to pay for soybeans.
It is clear that no one other than the producer himself has the capacity to define whether or not it is convenient to enter the program and that the grain markets in our country enjoy absolute transparency. According to Zubizarreta, “these tensions do not have to exist, because we are all on the same team. The industrialists are interested in the producer doing well, so we have the factories running all year round and it is useful for the producer to have strong buyers, working and efficient factories”.
The great concern that producers and industrialists have is not in what may happen in the next few days until the end of May, but in how to take advantage of the great opportunity that opens with the 2023/24 campaign. The claim is unique and focuses on achieving a single exchange rate and a reasonable tax burden. This tax burden – which doubles the average for the economy – reduces the competitiveness of a key sector for the country.
According to Zubizarreta, “we have to get out of this dynamic and think about how we create the conditions so that next year we have our revenge, we are all aware that we have an opportunity to get out of this crisis. Argentina takes away competitiveness from the only sectors that can generate a change in our economy”.
Source: Ambito
