The Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries assured that the government has been providing aid of more than 100 million dollars.
The leader of Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP), Fernando Mattosrequested that aid to producers affected by some of the worst drought that affected Uruguay in 100 years it will continue until the end of the year since the consequences are still valid, to which other economic aspects are added that do not contribute to an improvement in these sectors either.
Although the drought would seem to be the most important consequence regarding the situation that the agricultural sector has been suffering, for the president there are other factors that do not provide an improvement either. Among them is the drop in international prices In the last year, the low dollar and the water crisis that the center and south of Uruguay suffered in recent months.
Meanwhile, the government will make the decision whether or not to extend the agricultural emergency that ends this Saturday, September 23, in the next few hours. According to the minister, the government contributed more than 100 million dollars to help the sector most affected by the drought.
In that sense, the leader assured the television program Arriba la Gente on channel 10 that the sector’s losses are estimated at 1,800 million dollars, of which 1,000 million correspond to the last summer where They lost many crops.
The economic effects of the drought
Last week the Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU) published the Quarterly National Accounts (CNT) where, during the second quarter of the year, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell 2.5% compared to the same period last year.
Among the causes is the negative impact that the drought and the water crisis generated on the agricultural sector. On the other hand, in the productive sphere, the year-on-year falls in the sector stood out Agriculture, Fishing and Mining, with 27%, followed by Electric Power, Gas and Water, which reached 12%, all of them also linked to the drought and the water crisis.
Source: Ambito
