The Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Juan José Bahillo, highlighted the dialogue undertaken with all agricultural sectors and the work to “rebuild trust” with them, as well as the implementation of measures such as the so-called “soybean dollar” in a year marked by drought.
In dialogue with Télam Radio, the official took stock of the year with special emphasis on the agenda implemented in conjunction with the Ministry of Economy since he took office last August.
“The year closes well except for an issue that exceeds us, the sector and the producers that occurs for the third consecutive year, which is the drought,” said the official.
“If it weren’t for the drought, the agriculture and livestock sector is going through a moment of good prices. If they could have the performance levels they would be with good margins”
In that sense, Regarding the projections of the harvest, he affirmed that this year there is “a decrease in wheat and an uncertain horizon regarding the sowing of soybeans and corn due to the lack of moisture in the soil.”
In the same way, he indicated that the climatic phenomenon also affected “everything that is the availability of forage, pasture and reserve; and this complicates the livestock and the fields”.
This situation is added to a context of “uncertainty”, which -he pointed out- was an element that was present in “chains such as poultry and pork, which add value and transform vegetable protein into animal protein”.
“If it weren’t for the drought, the agriculture and livestock sector is going through a moment of good prices. If they could have the performance levels, they would be with good margins”, Bahillo asserted.
The secretary also made reference to the regional economies, which are facing dissimilar contexts according to whether they “depend on the internal market or the external market.”
This year there is a decline in wheat and an uncertain horizon regarding the planting of soybeans and corn due to the lack of moisture in the soil”
Despite their heterogeneity, Bahillo stated that his area is working on a “common agenda to assist them”, with lines of credit “for more than $1,000 million to cooperatives”, among other measures.
Beyond the regional economies, the official also highlighted the implementation of the Export Increase Program – also known as the “soybean dollar” – in its two editions.
“It is one of the measures that was most visible and that allowed the reserves of the Central Bank to be recomposed at some point, and to generate better income for producers”said.
On this last point, Bahillo exemplified by pointing out that before the program, in August “a soybean producer received $50,000 per ton”, and now “he receives between $95,000 and $102,000 per ton”, which -he indicated- represents “a notable improvement that It has doubled their income.”
