As expected, after the period that allowed soybeans to trade at an exceptional $ 200 for the US currency, operations collapsed. Finished the benefit in the exchange, in October, according to SIO Granos, sales abroad were recorded only for 2,307,143 tons when in September, in the course of the so-called Export Increase Program, they reached 13,574,147.

The implementation of the soybean dollar encouraged sales, prompting the establishment of grains and oilseed byproducts, which allowed the national government accumulate USD 5,000 to replenish the Central Bank’s reserves with operations of over USD 8,120 million. Now, you will have to manage the shortage of foreign exchange earnings, hole that will deepen due to the decrease in grain production caused by drought, which will limit exports of this cereal which normally start in December and allow for the restoration of part of the national reserves.

“It is clear that the ultra positive effect of the soybean dollar in September generated a strong anticipation of foreign exchange receipts and with these currencies we must try to live in the coming months. The upward flow was expected to resume in December due to grain shipments, but with the drought foreign exchange earnings are likely to remain low, “explained Gustavo Idígoras, President of the Chamber of the Oil Industry of the Argentine Republic and Chamber Cereal Exporters (CIARA-CEC).

“In October there was the purchase of soybeans by exporters 15,000 to 20,000 per week when we had just bought 1.5 million tons per day in September”, He detailed. For the entrepreneur, this “extremely low” number is not surprising. “But we were hoping that the drought wasn’t that severe and that we would start working with wheat at the end of November and December,” he said.

According to the data provided to Clarin Rural by the economist Agustina Peña, analyst at the Department of Information and Economic Studies of the Rosario Stock ExchangeOf the total soybean sales made in October, 2,162,694 tons correspond to contracts and 144,449 tons to fix.