After the announcement of the “malbec dollar” by Economy Minister Sergio Massa in Mendoza, Misiones stepped on the accelerator to obtain one dollar differential for four products which are pillars of its economy: yerba mate, tea, wood and tobacco.
Governor Oscar Herrera Ahuad admitted as much throughout the weekend he kept in touch with Massa and ensured that “we are on the right track” to reach the lead from the month of Aprilthe same term in which the differential dollar for wine would be triggered.
“We hope to be able to announce it specifically for the province of Misiones soon,” added Herrera Ahuad after inaugurating a school in Posadas. it is still so It is not defined whether the four production chains will be able to export with the same reference value or whether each will be handled with a different quote, as they face different realities.
From the grass sector they said it with a dollar to $280 (against the wholesaler’s $199.68) would recover competitiveness and give a good boost to the business; while the loggers have admitted that they export at $260 to the dollarthe situation would improve.
One of the big players in the market for youRenzo Klimiuk, argued that they need it a dollar over $300 because the dollar costs have skyrocketed lately. “We look forward to achieving this goal for all regional economies. I our case, we export 95% of the production”, explained the entrepreneur.
Klimiuk claimed to have already presented a study in Buenos Aires in which they explained the complications suffered due to the sharp increase in expenses, but they never got answers.
For his part, the president of the Association of Agricultural Producers of Misiones (APAM), Cristian Klingbeil, argued that the differential dollar arrives at the end of the harvestbut “if we can maintain that over time, it will provide predictability” for the next campaign, which kicks off in the spring.
“We hope to be able to announce it soon, already with a more specific number for the province of Misiones. Citrus producers and other regional economies should negotiate the same“Governor Herrera Ahuad said.
Against the “soy dollar” model.
The president of the Argentine federation of timber and related industries, Román Queiroz, said that a dollar differential for the timber sector It only works “if it extends over time, not even for a month”, as was the case with soy at the time.
“When a wood exporter has to do long-term projections to attract customers. AS, If the measure is for one or two months, it doesn’t work for us”He explained. The businessman claimed that exports fell by 80% and there is an oversupply in the internal market, with which many sawmills have reduced working hours or canceled shifts because their halls are full.
The implementation of a differential dollar will allow Misiones to continue negotiations with Massa for the implementation of the Special Customs Zone for the province. The announcement would have been made at the end of last December by the minister visiting Misiones, but that’s all it was postponed without date.
The finance minister of Misiones, Adolfo Safrán, assured two weeks ago that “there is a common interest in putting it into operation as soon as possible and we are now working on technical issues”.
In this sense, he said that “the differential dollar is one of the proposals for some productive sectors, such as tobacco, the forestry industry, sectors that are complicated today, such as tobacco”, which is smuggled into Brazil, where it is charged higher prices than those of the local market. Additionally, the Special Customs Zone would add fintech and tech companies.
Source: Clarin
