MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine producers want unreined dollars, not “traps”

“Those who ask for devaluation destroy the value of their companies,” Massa argued.

Argentine rural producers have voiced their rejection of Super Economy Minister Sergio Massa's proposal to create a reload version of the soybean dollar and insisted on the need to leave currency exchange free.

Massa has launched an AR$ 230 / US$ 1 exchange rate for produce exports to be liquidated between Nov. 28 and Dec. 31, which will apply only to soybean and export records of the soybean industrial complex.

During the previous soybean dollar in September (AR$ 200 / US$ 1), the Central Bank (BCRA) made credit more expensive for those who had more than 5% of soybean in stock and, in addition, left companies that operated with the system out of the purchase of dollars.

Massa launched Friday the reopening of the soybean dollar and pointed out that with the liquidation of foreign currency there would be a floor of income of US$ 3 billion. With last September's soybean dollar, foreign currency for more than US$8.1 billion was liquidated.

For the rural organizations, the “difference” between the official dollar and the soybean dollar II to be compensated by the Central Bank, would result in “all Argentines” paying for it.

The nine rural entities of northern Buenos Aires warned about the lack of rains which caused only 20% of soybeans sown nationwide. “The drought uncovered the reality, end of the story, all poorer”, they said.

Rural Societies described the measure as a trap. “A new soy dollar is offered to get just a little oxygen. The trap involves us and sets us against each other, those who have commitments must honor them, and at the same time they will be stigmatized; the privileged ones will make their big business, tailor-made suit for the prebend,” they said in a statement.

The Confederation of Rural Associations of Buenos Aires and La Pampa (Carbap) also questioned Massa's measure. “Zoo hunting will return for some players in the chain, who, sheltered in the fiscal needs of the Government, disguisedly pocket a price differential that will not be paid to the producer. It already happened in the previous Export Increase Program last September.”

Carbap insisted the plan was a ”zero-sum macroeconomic measure (what is collected this month will not be collected next quarter) that does nothing but generate distortions in the market and promote negative consequences in producers of different related activities (dairy farms, farms, etc).“

”It is intended to continue managing the pace of agricultural production from a desk, indicating who, when, how and for how long an arbitrary value of a product is established”, remarked the organization.

The Argentine Association of Agricultural Producers (AAPA) also mentioned that Massa's measures were akin to hunting in the zoo. “From AAPA we cannot keep quiet about this robbery to producers. Our association cannot be an accomplice to the lies of inexperienced and malicious government officials,” the organization said.

“We are going to close the year meeting our goal in terms of reserve accumulation,” Massa said Friday. “Those who ask for devaluation destroy the value of their companies,” he added.