Jonás Petterson had been interim head of the Institute because the Government had not yet appointed the new president of the board of directors. Petterson announced his decision at Thursday's board meeting.
Institute sources said that he had grown tired of the obstacles that some links in the production chain placed on his initiatives. The coarse harvest season began ten days ago and for the first time in more than two decades there is no reference price. The dryers are paying an average of 370 pesos per kilo of ironed green leaves. Some profitability is only achieved with a value of greater than 500 pesos. The Federal Court of Appeals of Posadas ratified an injunction that put a brake on the National Government's deregulatory advance on the herbal market. The ratification of the amparo returned all powers to the INYM, including that of setting reference prices for green leaf and yerba mate. And these powers will remain until there is a final ruling from the Court on the merits of the matter.