Sergio Massa announced changes in the soybean dollar which was quoted at 200 pesos in “a voluntary membership program”

Serge Massa announced this Sunday the changes in the soybean dollar, the price of the US currency that was set in July to speed up grain settlement. He said that it is “a voluntary membership program” and that the plan will be published in the Official Gazette “in the next few hours”. The Minister of Economy quoted him at “200” pesos.

“We have been working for 15 days, we have had moments in which there have been discussions and tensionsbut with the faith to seek resolutive mechanisms for a central issue for Argentina “, Massa said, after the obvious reference to why the announcement was postponed, in the face of the attack against Cristina Kirchner, which he defined” knowledge of public events, perhaps the most tragic since the return of democracy ”.

The new scheme was claimed by industry leaders, with whom the Minister of Economy, Production and Agriculture met on Thursday. In that meeting, the former president of the Chamber of Deputies had anticipated that he would bring the exchange rate above 200. It was the figure that in the end he scored.

The conference has begun well after what was planned and the minister carried it out accompanied by representatives of various sectors of the countryside e much of its economic cabinet.

Among those present were Gabriel Rubinstein, Matias Tombolini, Juan Jose Bahillo, Miguel Pesce, Gabriel Vienni, Jorge Solmi, Raúl Rigo, Jose Ignacio De Mendiguren and Guillermo Michel, among others.

As mentioned in the announcement, among the benefits that currency exchanges will bring, “more than $ 5 billion in reserves“and” 98% of the production will be exported “.

Furthermore, he stressed that the changes “favor exports from the countryside and from improvement of reserves It will allow us to maintain energy consumption in factories and homes.

The program, the minister specified, is “voluntary membership” it’s not mandatory, starts this Monday September 5th ends September 30th.

“For the state it is very important because it also allows the strengthening of reserves which is essential to overcome difficulties or stress that somehow the Argentine economy has suffered “, Massa estimates.

And he warned: “It is important that you know that this has, on the one hand, the advantage of having an individual wheel which is for the days of September, which open the central bank What is a settlement mechanism? dollar to 200 for the farmer, for the exporter and for the payment of the Central Bank which will do so it rules only in that moment“.

He then explained the measure. “There is a guaranteed minimum, we hope any manufacturer feels it is facing the opportunity to be recognized a better value, band for what it represents for the purposes of its future possibility for that 85% floor for future benefit programs which will have to face the Ministry of Agriculture “.

In this sense, he spoke of “a program that will be administered by ANSES which aims to finance everyone vulnerable sectors who feel that social programs are not enough for them“. “Always respecting the principle of the fiscal order and with the idea that the programs will be part of the achievement of the objectives we have set ourselves as a government”, he contextualized.

The announcement would have been made last Friday, but the attack on Cristina Kirchner altered the government’s agenda and Massa managed to finalize it only this Sunday, a few hours before going to Washington.

The “soybean dollar” was implemented in late July, when Silvina Batakis was still in charge of the Ministry of Economy. According to this initiative, which had an expiration date of 1 September, producers could buy the solidarity dollar with 30% of the amount left over after the collection of withholdings.

Despite official expectations, the initiative added 369 operations for $ 3,360 million. In the balance sheet, producers bought only one in four dollars that they could acquire at the “solidarity” level, which shows that those who have been selling in recent weeks were agricultural agents without the ability to save in foreign currency.

In recent conversations, representatives of the Liaison Table have called for the new “soy dollar” not to be limited to soy, but to consider selling other grains, and not to be a temporary measure.

Sergio Massa’s roadmap

As the minister spoke, his press office detailed the outline of the road map of Massa’s goals prior to his announcements.

• “Improvements for producers”: “It is a simple measure for the producer, as he can look at the price of the slate on the Rosario Exchange, debit it on his account and can choose to use the resources to buy inputs or use the chacarero account or link to the account in all banks. In net terms, it represents the same as if it were 0 withholdings for the manufacturer. “
• “Export increase”: “The cereal companies have signed a liquidation commitment for a guaranteed $ 5 billion. It is a lateral round of the Free Single Market, transitory of 25 days that begins on Monday and ends on September 30”.
• “More reserves for fiscal reasons”: “In July and August, reserves were allocated for the import of energy. We recall that August was the month with the highest historical consumption of both electricity and gas. This is why the goal of this measure is to strengthen reserves.
• “Aid to regional economies”: “The higher income this generates from trade appreciation allows for two programs: one to strengthen all regional economies to find mechanisms to increase exports based on better prices and aid and compensation for regional economies. And another through ANSES to help the most vulnerable sectors, understanding that this effort made by the state that pays a higher price has a social correlation to compensate for the problem of inflation “.

Sergio Massa’s tour in the United States

The Economy Minister will fly to Washington, United States on Monday, where he will meet the head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva.

His team arrived a few hours early to begin face-to-face talks with IMF staff. The entourage, which traveled this Sunday, is made up of Leonardo Madcur (head of the advisors and main interlocutor of the agency), Raul Rigo (Treasury), Gabriel Rubinstein (Economic policy), Eduardo Setti (Finance), Lisandro Cleri (Bank Centrale) and Marco Lavagna (Index).

The main objectives of the Mass tour in the United States will be to renew forthcoming disbursements in the face of growing difficulties in approving audits, unlock funding from multilateral organizations and demonstrate that the Central Bank has the capacity to accumulate reserves.

The minister, with a tight schedule, will visit Houston next Friday and on Monday 12 September he will hold his first meeting with Georgieva, head of the Fund.

He will also speak with Juan González, Joe Biden’s advisor for Latin America on the National Security Council, and hopes to arrange a meeting with Janette Yellen, head of the Treasury, or her advisors.

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