Dollar-soy: Only 50 producers joined the official program and sales were further delayed

The Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) has created a new system for producers to speed up the liquidation of the soybean crop due to the dollar shortage the country is facing. However, it did not have the desired success and now the Ministry of Agriculture is looking for new mechanisms to accelerate the commercialization of the bean.

According to official sources reported to Clarin Rural, only 50 manufacturers They have joined the government’s initiative for an approximate amount of 400 million pesos since it began governing in early August.

According to the latest official data as of August 17, producers sold 22.3 million tons of soybeans compared to 27.8 million tons last year for the same time. This represents a delay of 5.5 million tonnes (19%).

But when compared to July 27, before the new soybean dollar regime began, sales have slowed even further. By that date, 27/07, 21.3 million tons had been marketed. against 26.2 million last year for the same date. In other words, 4.9 million tonnes (18%) had been sold in that period.

The resolution of the Central Bank – which lasts until the 31st of the current month – provided that when a producer sells soybeans, he can, on the one hand, with 30% of the pesos obtained from this sale, acquire what is known as “Solidarity dollar or savings” and on the other hand, with 70% they can be deposited in a sight deposit which will be backed by a new non-transferable bill of exchange from the BCRA regulated by the Notice of Change of Reference “A” 3500.

According to Julio Calzada, director of information and economic studies at the Rosario stock exchange, the benefit for the farmer who adheres to this modality is only 9% against an exchange rate differential of over 200%. That is: the producer charges 96 pesos for every dollar (official dollar minus 33% of withholdings) against the 297 dollars that the blue dollar exchanges today.

However, according to a report by the Agricultural Foundation for Development of Argentina (FADA) released today, during the first six months of 2022, agribusiness generated $ 31,000 million in revenue from exports, the highest figure in the country’s history.

“This shows that there is no shortage of dollars, in fact dollars have entered as never before in history, but there are excess pesos in a context of monetary issuance, exchange traps and backlog of official exchange”, he assured. David MizzoFada economist.

new alternatives

The government said the current system does not encourage producers to sell their soybean crop. This was recognized by the Secretary of Agriculture, Juan José Bahillo.

Given the failure of the plan, officials from the agricultural portfolio area met three times with the liaison table – one with the owners and two with the technicians – to look for alternatives that would benefit farmers. So far there are no definitions in this regard.