The Chief of Staff, Guillermo Francostraveled with the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputoto the province of Cordova. During the presentation of the event he attended – which had nothing to do with the agricultural sector – criticized rural producers that have not yet commercialized their production.
The official explained – while seeking the minister’s complicit gaze – that on the trip “we saw many silobags”noting that there were a good number of grain holders that had not yet come off. He did it in front of Caputo and the governor of Córdoba, Martin Llaryora.
Francos referred to the investment by the national government to finance work related to energy and to the “paradigm change” both politically and economically in the country. He explained that “the second most interesting conversation of the day was with Governor Llaryora, while they were touring the section that connects the towns of Fourth River and La Carlota, head of the Juárez Celman department in the province of Córdoba.
“We saw a lot of silobags, right?! People who have not yet settledbut it doesn’t matter, it’s a detail…”, assured Francos. The response from the field did not take long to arrive and from the Liaison Commission of Entities of the province They responded through a statement.
Specifically, the provincial Liaison Table highlighted that “A simple comment was enough for the same fears that were previously commonplace to reappear. and that, we believed, had disappeared. We think that with a Government that calls itself libertarian, It was not necessary to justify how we used our property. or what destination we give to our exchange goods. We believed that this was what the unrestricted respect for private property that this Government proclaims was about. But we see that it is not. That property, when it is in the hands of agricultural producers, is different from that of others. We have to sell our products when the Government of the day wants and at the price it decides, of course as it has for 20 years, at a price reduced by export duties.”
Furthermore, from Córdoba, rural entities took the opportunity to criticize the validity of the RIGI -which Caputo himself celebrated last week- by reminding the Government that “No one encourages us to make investments or gives us a special regime.”even though we invest annually 10 times more than those who receive the incentives.” This point is another open conflict with the Executive Branch, since it is known that the project called RIDA, which is being promoted in Congress for investments in agriculture, if it advances it will be vetoed by Javier Milei.
The person who sought to tone down the discussion was Nicolas Pinoholder of the Argentine Rural Society. Through his X account, he assured that he had contacted the official and that there were “coincidences” in which “The more silobags you see, the better the country will do because there will be more production.” and that is work, development and wealth in the provinces”
This point is key for the province of Córdoba, because it is the largest corn producer in the countrywhich is the grain that generates the most added value. It is undoubtedly the province where the transformation of raw materials has been promoted for some time.
Why Francos “doesn’t see it”
One of the criticisms of the official’s statements refers to the fact that, despite the promises, “the same extractive scheme of the previous administrations” is maintained. The question is whether Milei’s government only cares about revenue or if it prefers ptrain on a productive model where value addition is the flag to fly.
Last week the foreign exchange settlement data was released, which reached the record of the US$2,553 million (+ 243% versus the same month in 2023) according to data from the Chamber of the Oil Industry and the Cereal Exporters Center (Ciara-CEC). So far this year, foreign currency has already entered the country US$21,125,340,077which implies a rise of 21%.
Although it is still surprising that in the upper echelons the terms “liquidation” are still confused with “commercialization” (producers do not liquidate, but market so that the export can then sell to the world and liquidate the foreign currency), it is worth clarifying that the numbers mentioned are possible thanks to the fact thatThe producers promoted a better sales rates, which corresponded to greater soybean grinding and greater export of flour and oils.
But that is not the central point of the discussion. A source consulted by Scope in the productive sector of Córdoba, criticized the statements of the chief of staff and assured that “It is about different perspectives and production models, because the challenge is to transform grains in areas far from the ports”. Córdoba “saw” this point a long time ago, because when a grain of corn is transformed into meat or biofuel, Wealth is multiplied and local employment is generated and genuine. They are different views, which is why there is so much demand for the removal of withholdings, so that investments can be made and value added at source.”
Francos’ statements are perhaps due to the fact that The national government cares a lot about grain salesbecause income from withholdings is assured – regardless of what happens with the producer’s profitability – but for the companies that invested, such as those in the bioenergy cluster, It helps them that raw materials are transformed at origin.
The entire agricultural sector seeks to achieve greater productionbut there are different models and the one in Córdoba is to seek the greatest possible transformation. Actually, If there is corn in a silobag, it is likely that Francos will be surprised, but there will be no worried producers and industrialists from Córdoba.because they are not desperate for that corn to be sold abroad as grain, but rather to transform it and add value to it at source.
Source: Ambito
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