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“An unforgettable year for soybeans in Argentina”, yields and harvested area at its lowest

Friday, June 29th 2018 - 05:25 UTC
Full article 9 comments

Argentine soy yields and harvesting area have been chopped by drought to their lowest levels since the 2008/09 season, analysts said on Thursday, citing the effect of a four-month dry spell that suddenly gave way to floods in April. Read full article

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  • Enrique Massot

    This calamity reveals the vulnerabilities of a commodity-based economy that is the current focus of the Argentine current government. The weather and the ups and downs of international prices are unpredictable and changing factors every year.

    In spite of that, the current administration continues on a path of destruction of the country's incipient industrial sector through out-of-proportion increases in energy bills, a wide opening of imports and a general lack of support and incentives.

    Jun 29th, 2018 - 06:12 pm - Link - Report abuse -3
  • Don Alberto

    The usual stupid nonsense.

    The Kirchner administration induced the unfortunate soy“adventure” by violently taxing the farmers on e.g. meat production.

    Jun 29th, 2018 - 10:47 pm - Link - Report abuse +2
  • Enrique Massot

    @DA

    So Don Alberto informs us that Kirchner “violently” taxed the farmers on meat production.

    Is there such thing as a non-violent tax?

    Apparently Kirchner's tax on meat was the kind that caused some bruises but could be healed in a few days.

    However, Kirchner's tax on soy was of a serious kind: it caused hematomas. As for sunflower, corn and wheat, these were taxed at levels that caused some traumatic internal bleeding in 2008.

    But seriously: it is true that soy cultivation intensified under the Kirchner government and that adverse effects of its cultivation as monoculture included flooding, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, erosion and intensive use of pesticides that are causing serious health effects on adjacent populations.

    The difference between then and now is that Kirchner did promote the creation and growth of small and medium-size enterprises including R&D and high-tech ventures in fields such as spatial and nuclear -- all of which is being thoroughly dismantled by the current administration.

    In any event, Señor Alberto, the Macri government has been able to implement pretty much every single law it wanted with the help of sectors of Peronism in Congress.

    When will you begin to make the current government responsible for something?

    Also: How long will you keep blaming Argentina's current problems on a government that ceased to exist over 30 months ago?

    Jun 30th, 2018 - 05:10 am - Link - Report abuse -3
  • DemonTree

    @EM
    “How long will you keep blaming Argentina's current problems on a government that ceased to exist over 30 months ago?”

    Given they are still blaming Argentina's problems on Peron, and he died 44 years ago, I think it's going to be a looooong time.

    These right-wingers are more interested in ideology than evidence, if the plans they support don't work they will never admit they were wrong, but simply look for someone else to blame.

    Jun 30th, 2018 - 09:52 am - Link - Report abuse -2
  • Enrique Massot

    @DT

    Right on.

    Don Alberto's post about a “violent” tax on meat producers reveals absolute lack of factual knowledge: instead, what got significant opposition during the Kirchner government was a variable tax on soy, corn, sunflower and wheat.

    Funny how, unlike stalwarts like D. Alberto, the troupe of Macri cheerleaders quickly retreated as soon as the first red lights about the Argentina economy began to appear.

    Too bad they are unwilling to face the music.

    Jul 01st, 2018 - 01:58 am - Link - Report abuse -2
  • DemonTree

    I was going to say that most of them had disappeared from the site completely, but judging by the downvotes there are at least two reading this thread but unwilling to stick their necks out and comment.

    Jul 02nd, 2018 - 12:44 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Enrique Massot

    Ha ha ha...that's right! They are like the flu every winter...never fail to show up :)

    Jul 02nd, 2018 - 11:27 pm - Link - Report abuse -1
  • Tarquin Fin

    @Enrique

    The study of history is meant to gain perspective, a.k.a, learn from past errors. Recent history on the other hand does imply a bigger emotional charge for most people. If we want to learn from our recent mistakes, let's say over the last 10 years or so, we must make a greater effort to overcome emotionally induced conclusions, while still acknowledging them, and strive for objectiveness at all costs. Keeping this kind of discipline when you combine short term political goals and mass media monetization, is almost impossible for the general public.


    Academics on the other hand could sort out this eventuality without major difficulties if you keep politics out fo major universities. This way they will certainly be able to produce a list of facts and their most obvious correlations in a manner and language that would be understandable for most folks.

    The question remains: Who would care to read those works when we're still sore from our recent world cup eviction and still throwing poop at each other over recent electoral results?

    Jul 03rd, 2018 - 06:19 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Enrique Massot

    @TF

    Agreed. Objective analysis that overcomes emotion must be paramount.

    At this point, unfortunately, Argentina is in a slippery slope and will provide a textbook case of how a deeply flawed economic program can dismantle an economy in less than three years.

    This of course, is relevant to those with an objective view. Those with a stake will advance a full range of opinions, but the process is developing so fast under our eyes, that the negative consequences will also come fast enough for all to see -- and again, unfortunately -- experience.

    Jul 04th, 2018 - 04:52 pm - Link - Report abuse 0

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