Page Seven / La Paz
Although there was a setback yesterday, the prices of minerals and soybeans shot up in recent days due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and both analysts and producers point out that this will help improve the value of exports, but not production.
The manager of the National Association of Oilseed Producers (Anapo), Jaime Hernández, indicated that any price increase for soybeans is favorable for the country because 80% of the production is surplus destined for exports in products with added value, like flour and oil, mainly.
The price of this grain for contracts that expire in March fell 4% and closed with a value of 584.3 dollars per ton. A day earlier, on Thursday, it had shot up to $645.
According to Hernández, the rise in prices can generate at least 1,500 million dollars of foreign currency, similar to the year 2021, contributing significantly to the economic reactivation of the country.
“Although it is possible that we will match the export record for the year 2021, despite having better prices, we will have less production of soybean grain due to the productive losses generated by the drought presented in this summer campaign. That is why the importance of biotechnology to avoid these losses and generate more income for the country”, he indicated.
The president of Anapo, Fidel Flores, stated that the price is a good opportunity for producers to take advantage of the situation. “This will allow us to recover some of the losses we have had due to the drought, which was prolonged and hit not only Bolivia, but also Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. It is an opportunity for producers”, he remarked.
However, he said that if they had access to genetically improved organisms for soybeans, production could be further increased and higher foreign exchange generated.
He reported that it is expected to reach a production of two million tons of soybeans, which represents a decrease of 500 thousand tons compared to the previous summer campaign.
In the case of wheat, he said that a price increase is expected and that could affect the country, because only 30% is produced nationally and the rest must be imported, mainly from Argentina.
minerals
The price of tin on Thursday reached 20.7 dollars a fine pound and yesterday it fell slightly to 20.5 dollars, according to data from the London Metal Exchange.
Silver in the last two days was quoted at $25.3 and $24.2 a troy ounce, gold at $1,968.3 and $1,912 a troy ounce, and zinc at $1.66 and $1.65 a fine pound. .
Former Mining Minister Dionsio Garzón pointed out that this quarter there will be an increase in the value of silver and gold exports, as well as tin and zinc. “It will have a conjunctural effect and it will help, but production is stagnant in lead, silver, zinc, tin and antimony. Gold has an important value, it is not a blessing for the State, because it is taxed little when it comes to informal production, ”he stressed.
Production is stagnant because there is no exploration, since the legislation repels private investment. “Very few people come to invest, there is a silver and zinc Alcira project in Potosí, and it is the only novelty,” he pointed out.
He added that the rise in prices will benefit Huanuni, Colquiri, San Cristóbal, cooperatives, Santa Bartolome and Bolívar.
bags
European stocks closed sharply higher in the absence of extreme sanctions against Russia, largely recouping Thursday’s heavy losses. After having lost nearly 4%, the markets in Paris, London, Frankfurt, Madrid and the European reference index Eurostoxx 50 are above a 3% rise.
Wall Street indices closed higher.
