The Government is asking for “accompaniment” to stop the rise of flour

Under the orders of the Minister of Economy, Martín Guzmán, the successor of Roberto Feletti, the new Secretary of Internal Trade, Guillermo Hang, is continuing to assemble an agenda to curb inflation. On Monday, he met with FAIM (the main chamber of the millers) with whom ask them for “accompaniment” to curb the rise in the price of flour. On the other hand, confirmed the continuity of the wheat is trusting to subsidize the domestic market.

Although he has not yet been officially appointed, Hang is simultaneously working on the move with Feletti’s former associates and liaising with Guzmán on future pricing policy. So far, the dominant idea is continue with similar recipes but based on agreements with consumer goods companies. The priority is the quarterly renewal of Care Prices, which will expire July 7th.

Official sources indicate that several possibilities are being considered. One of them is to advance the price adjustment for this month to avoid getting lost in the gondola. The other is limit the number of regulated products to 100, in contrast to the 1,321 that currently make up the official program. During his administration, Feletti multiplied controls and baskets, that is now they cover nearly 1,900 essentialswithout getting results.

Companies, so far, Hang did not call them. Even Daniel Funes de Rioja, the head of Copal (the food companies), requested a meeting to find out what the secretary’s new axes were. The appointment of Diego Cifarelli, president of FAIM (Argentine Federation of the Milling Industry) expects a new style.

On his official debut, Hang hired him accompanied by two men from Feletti’s cabinet: Antonio Mezmezian and Oscar Leguizamón. “He asked us to accompany him in those moments deep concern by the volatility of international prices, especially in the wheat chain, the most sensitive of all, ”Cifarelli explains.

Millers, once again, raised their objections to the trust (compensating fund), which was resolved in the last 2% increase in withholdings on flour and soybean oil and 1% on biodiesel, applied by the Government at the beginning of March. Resistors are related to the fear of postponing the collection of subsidies or the indirect collection of them.

“We ask that others explore stronger alternatives than the current program, such as subsidy directly to the baker, or building some “Bread card“or that the funds are allocated to Alimentar card beneficiaries of families with fewer resources”, Cifarelli commented. The manager made sure Hang didn’t reject the idea: “He promised he would review it.but in the meantime the trusts will continue to be valid ”.

Until last Monday, Hang was a member of the board of directors of the Central Bank. After Feletti’s surprise resignation, he replaced it in the office by Guzmán’s explicit request, which he has known since college. On the other hand, you already know your current role since you worked as Secretary of Commerce with Guillermo Moreno. It doesn’t mean going back to old habits, they promise. They ensure that the controls will continue, but on a framework of agreements with supermarkets and manufacturers.

Hang’s arrival signaled the strengthening of Guzmán, which was questioned by the poor sectors of Christianity. The minister and Hang faced the challenge of avoiding the acceleration of prices. Accumulated inflation to April was 33.1%, according to Indec data. There is always food that is supernatural. Consumer goods companies expect Hang to provide some insight into the future of controlled pricing programs.