02/04/2021 13:18
Clarín.com
Politics
Updated 02/04/2021 13:18
In the midst of the economic crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic and the increase in food prices, the national government "did not rule out" an increase in farm withholdings to begin to stabilize the economy.
"I do not rule out anything,"
replied Cecilia Todesca, Deputy Chief of Staff, when asked about the possibility of an increase in withholdings, in dialogue with
El Uncover Radio
.
And he added: "The retentions are a technical tool that what it does is decouple the international price from the national price to guarantee the supply of food at a reasonable price with respect to the income of the families."
In this regard, the official explained: "We have limits established in the Solidarity Law, which are the limits that Congress imposed on us.
There are still some points that can be raised.
This is not to be against the field, nor any of the things that the opposition installs us. But we export food and prices rise, why would a producer sell his food to the domestic market at the lowest price if he can export it earning more? Entrepreneurs are entrepreneurs, they don't have foundations, so they earn money. "
In any case, Todesca confirmed that negotiations began with all the actors to seek
"alternative solutions"
and avoid a rise in withholdings: "We have been in talks with the sector, which are good. In the case of oil, they are talking about some specific mechanism, there is also a table for corn. We are giving rise to these conversations, but we are looking closely at what happened to prices and we care. We don't have as many tools to protect families' pockets. "
Todesca confirmed that negotiations began with all the actors to seek "alternative solutions."
Photo: Juan José García
In this sense, he continued: "We are committed to dialogue, we have been holding meetings for a long time with the Argentine Agroindustrial Council, there are specific tables operating in the Ministry of Agriculture, the people of Internal Trade also participate. So here nobody can say that they have not been summoned to give alternative solutions. Of course, it has to give alternative solutions ".
The official stressed that "our objective for this year is an inflation of 29%."
And he concluded: "We have to point to that space for debate and that is why the Ministers of Labor, Economy and Productive Development are working on setting up meetings with trade unionists and businessmen to tell them how we see this year."
In this context, on Tuesday it was learned that despite the fact that the production drop would be around 9%, a consequence of weather conditions that have been unfavorable throughout the cycles of the different crops, the price effect as a consequence of the increase in FOB values The average of the vast majority of grains and by-products would more than compensate for this drop in production.
Thus, the Argentine agro-industrial complex would achieve a foreign exchange income of 35.9 billion dollars, adding the main grains and derived products, according to data from the Rosario Stock Exchange.
This brand would exceed by more than 10 billion dollars the amount of the previous cycle and it would be a historical maximum in terms of the value of the sector's exports if current prices are maintained.
AFG
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In 2020, Argentine exports fell three times more than global exports