Hand in hand with the internal market, The yerbatero sector closed the year with record sales. During 2023, 285,430,373 kilos came out of the mills, almost 10 million more than in the same period in 2022, according to data from the National Yerba Mate Institute (INYM).
Although the increase is only 3.48% per year, it takes on another significance in a year marked by economic deterioration due to the growth of inflation and other variables, which have negatively influenced the consumption of Argentine families.
From the sector they explained that sales on the domestic market have increased precisely due to the loss of purchasing power of the low-income segment of the population. The thing is In many cases, mate cooked with a piece of bread is used as a substitute for some meals, mainly dinner.. And perhaps the speculation of the large commercial chains also had a lesser impact, as they tried to increase their shares in the uncertainty generated by the electoral process which ended with Javier Milei in the Casa Rosada.
Foreign sales, meanwhile, were maintained throughout 2023. The Institute indicated that 39,691,203 kilo containers were shipped, just 612,803 kilos less than in 2022. So far, the year with the largest exports has been 2020, with almost 43 million kilos.
Those who closed a year to forget are the primary producers. According to the INYM, in 2023 the entry of green yerba mate leaves into dryers decreased by 6.75%, or 55 million kilos less than the current values of 13.2 billion pesos.
The decrease in the harvest is mainly due to climatic factors. The entire production region went through a prolonged drought until March last year. The arrival of the El Niño phenomenon caused higher than normal rainfall, which negatively affected the harvest and yield of aromatic herbs.
The herbalists of Misiones are on the warpath. In recent days there have been meetings that voted to suspend the harvest to ask for a recomposition of the price after the strong devaluation in December and the inflationary leap.
Growers currently receive around 240 pesos per kilo of green leaves placed in dryers and ask that the reference price be set immediately at 505 pesos, since they cannot cover their production costs with the values they receive.
Primary producers assure that with the value of a kilo of yerba mate on the shelves amounting to around 3,000 pesos, the dryers and factories are able to pay that amount.
The INYM, which remains headless because the national government has not yet appointed a president, convened its directors on February 15 to start the discussion on the reference values which will govern the thick harvest, which runs from March to October.
Corrientes representatives said they would not participate because the DNU signed by President Javier Milei took away the Institute’s power to set reference values for green leaf pistachios and yerba mate (dried, without grinding). The same attitude would be taken by managers representing the industrial sector. The producers, however, claim that the application of the decree was suspended following the protection appeal issued by a civil judge in Misiones.
The INYM must set prices by unanimous vote of the board. And if a total agreement is not reached, a cost table and the context of the discussion are sent to the Ministry of Agriculture to issue an award that would now go against the presidential decision to completely liberate the herb market.
Source: Clarin
