At the Park Hyatt Hotel in
Mendoza
, within the framework of the National Harvest Festival, Economy Minister
Sergio Massa
promised that
the "Malbec dollar" would start in April
and asked in exchange that the wineries maintain good prices in the domestic market.
"As of April 1, just as we put in place at some point a mechanism for this agro-industrial complex (soy), we are going to accompany it with a mechanism for what all the regional economies are, starting with viticulture to recover export competitiveness, recover markets but also so that they have the opportunity to face the loss that the hail and the frost represented", said Sergio Massa.
"The State and the productive sector together have the opportunity to contribute to consolidate Argentina's reserves and consolidate the growth and productive development of those who generate 330,000 jobs, such as the regional economies," remarked the Minister of Economy, regarding the measure that was demanded by the wine industry since last November, that is, five months ago.
Sergio Massa made the announcement at the Argentine Wine Corporation breakfast.
"By April 1, in the regulations and in the work program, we have the capacity to take care of export competitiveness to recover markets, the capacity for this new price to reach all producers so that it does not become profit for a few and that we
all have the challenge of guaranteeing, at a good price, the supply of the internal market
", assured Massa.
The winemakers' claim began in September of last year, based on the preferential dollar that soybean exporters had.
At that time, Bodegas de Argentina, the wine industry chamber, asked the national government to eliminate the 4.5% export duty rate that is currently levied on wine.
In addition, he requested support for international promotion and that policies be implemented to reduce or eliminate the tariffs paid by national wineries to enter their wines in the main international markets.
According to statistics from the National Institute of Viticulture (INV), in the first seven months of last year, total exports of bottled wine between January and July reached 116 million liters against 126 million liters in 2021.
But also, if the bulk is added, the total in that period of 2022 is 160 million liters versus the 201 million liters of 2021. In terms of value, between January and July 2021 it was 514 million dollars -bulk and bottled- against 482 million in the same period of 2022.
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