In the midst of dripping reserves, the Central Bank decided to extend this Thursday the term of a measure that
"penalizes" agricultural producers who collect and do not liquidate their harvest with more expensive credit
.
This is a controversial decision that had been taken in September of last year, within the framework of the first edition of the soybean dollar program.
The original rule, A7600, established "a minimum interest rate of 120% over the LELIQ rate for soybean producers" who do not liquidate more than 95% of their crop.
The measure applied at that time "to all financing lines in pesos, whatever the form of instrumentation, and is complementary to the program launched by the Government for producers to settle foreign currency for soybean exports at 200 pesos per dollar." .
That norm, very resentful in the field that saw a sharp increase in the cost of its credit in the context of the worst drought in the last 14 years, expired this Wednesday.
This Thursday, the BCRA board of directors decided to extend it until December 31 of this year.
It could be an attempt to "force" producers to liquidate, or be a sign that the
third round of a "soybean dollar" program
, highly anticipated in the market, is in the pipeline of the Government.
Through communication A7720, the organization chaired by Miguel Pesce also extended the validity of all lines of productive investment, at subsidized rates, which had an expected expiration at the end of this month.
The rule establishes that all entities "must maintain a financing balance within this line that is equivalent to, at least, 7.5% of their non-financial private sector deposits in pesos, calculated based on the monthly average of daily balances to March 2023".
"Launched up by the BCRA in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Financing Line for Productive Investment became the main channel through which credits are channeled to MiPyMEs in our country," the organization justified the decision in a statement.
"So far, the loans granted through this line have accumulated disbursements for approximately
$4.447 billion, reaching more than 379,000 companies,"
he explained.
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