Massa and Agriculture Secretary anger over central measures for soybean growers

to the Minister of Economy, Serge Massa, and Agriculture Secretary, Juan Jose Bahillo He did not like the Central Bank’s (BCRA) decision to make credit more expensive for soybean growers, a measure that seeks to limit their financing and, instead, the sale of oilseeds beyond the “soybean dollar” mechanism. raises to $200. Although they insist that the central is “autonomous”, in agriculture they will try to convince the monetary authorities that this is a “wrong” measure: they will thus explore its possible reversal.

Yesterday, the BCRA set a “minimum rate for financing producers who maintain soybean stocks of more than 5% of their production, equivalent to 120% of the latest monetary policy rate.” as told, “The minimum interest rate of 120% on the licorice rate will apply to all financing lines in pesos, regardless of the form of instrumentation, and complements the program initiated by the government to enable producers to eliminate foreign exchange from soybean exports. . at 200 pesos per dollar”.

The measure is intended, profoundly, to prevent the producer from possessing soybeans and instead finance itself with a credit that is usually at a subsidized rate. “It affects only those who do not sell soybeans. If you sell, you get access to the credit you have.” Expressed a source from the Centre, who said the provisions were “agreed with other sectors of the government.”

The measure generated a strong disapproval from the leaders of the contact table, who conveyed their trouble to Secretary Bahlo. “Earlier they treated us like bookies. With what authority does the Central Bank ask us for this? asked the president of the Argentine Agricultural Association (FAA), Carlos Achetoni. In a document, the FAA later indicated: “They want to force us to sell today, because they need to attend to their trash.” for its part, Jorge Cames, president of the Argentine Rural Confederation (CRA), said: “It’s crazy, a mess; we file a complaint.”

Adarsh’s moment came as a surprise when the government was able to ramp up sales of soybeans. There was anger not only in the rural leadership but also in the areas of Massa and Bahlo. According to what this medium could know, there was a telephonic contact between the two officers last night. [Massa está en los Estados Unidos] And the uneasiness created by the measure in the field was being discussed.

“We disagree”, An agricultural source said about the provision of BCRA. “We found out from the measures already taken,” he said.

The surprise in agriculture comes from the fact that this measure began with the progress of sales by producers. “everything was being destroyed”, He said in agriculture.

As an example of the latter, today the Rosario Stock Exchange (BCR) estimated that between last Monday and yesterday, When the mechanism was put in place to settle soybeans with an exchange rate of $200, producers sold 3.8 million tonnes. This is a record sale in such a short time. According to agri-export sources, the total volume at the end of the week stood at 4.3 million tonnes, while the sector received foreign exchange of US$ 2.1 billion.

According to another BCR survey, industry and exports may complete up to 6.1 million tonnes in the remaining days of September and exports may reach the level of 6.1 million tonnes. $2.055 to $3.39 billion. For the state, meanwhile, withholding up to US$1.1 billion would yield tax revenue.

in agriculture, they would try to see the BCRA “It’s the wrong way.” He added: “We are seeing if we can convince them.”

The maximum objective is to make the monetary authority attempt to withdraw the measure. BCRA’s Board of Directors meets on Thursday, so any possible changes, unless there is something extraordinary, will not be known in advance.

In its rules, meanwhile, yesterday the bank “exempts this rate from producers whose total amount of financing in the financial system does not exceed an amount equal to $2 million and who prove that they have more than 5% of soybean production.” % of its annual crop potential. For consultancy sources, the level assumed is too low.

Meanwhile, more criticism has been added to the BCRA measure in the past few hours. “We believe that credit is essential for the development of productive activity and that discriminating against a dynamic sector will undoubtedly have an impact on production capacity.” Federation of Argentine soybean chain (Acsoja). “Therefore, we ask the government to reverse this measure which hurts internal growth and growth in the flow of exports,” He added.

“The increase in interest rates for soybean growers who retain their grains is an act of discrimination that violates the rights to equality and freedom of trade enshrined in the national constitution,” he said for his part on his Twitter account. Told. , Jess Maria Silveira, former Under Secretary of Agriculture Markets.

The grain exchanges of Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Entre Ríos, as well as the Chaco, Rosario and Santa Fe stock exchanges, expressed their disapproval of the monetary authority’s provisions through a statement. The letter indicates, “The Commerce and Grain Exchanges express their total disapproval of the communication issued by the Central Bank of the Republic of Argentina dated September 8, 2022, by which it establishes a minimum rate to finance soybean producers.”

“This measure is completely discriminatory and perverse and threatens the normal development of productive activities, Risking not only potential investment in the sector but also access to working capital that this year will be so urgent due to a severe drought that is threatening the production of the next campaign. he pointed

Finally, they emphasize that it is necessary to give a clear indication of the future “today more than ever”. “That is why exchanges request the Central Bank officials to immediately repeal the above rule,” they close.