05/18/2021 9:07 AM
Clarín.com
Rural
Updated 05/18/2021 9:42 AM
President Alberto Fernández on Tuesday justified the decision to close meat exports for 30 days to try to contain the sharp increase in domestic prices and stated that "order" should be "put in place" in that market.
"I had to explain to the exporters that the meat issue
clearly
got out of hand
," said the president.
In statements to
Radio 10
, Fernández assured that they have to
"put order in those who export
" and spoke of prohibiting the sale of meat for export in the Liniers Market.
On Monday, the government announced the closure of meat exports for 30 days to contain the domestic price after a 65% rise in the price in butchers in the last year.
According to what Fernández himself communicated to Mario Ravettino, head of the ABC Consortium, which brings together all the exporting refrigerators, while the closure lasts, the Government will
implement a set of emergency measures
aimed at ordering the operation of the sector.
In this framework, the President on Tuesday awarded the increase in the domestic price of meat to "
many exporters who sell to China go and buy in the Liniers Market
."
"So there the export price prevails, which is the one that pays the most. That only distorts the domestic market," he explained.
The Government decided to close sales abroad, despite the need for dollars.
In addition, he rejected that a market liberalization is the solution for the sector: "If you look at the 2015 scenario and the one we received in 2019, the only thing you see is that the sector was given a total opening but they did not increase the amount tons slaughtered, the number of heads did not increase, the weight of the steer that is slaughtered is less and less. The only thing that increased was the price of meat. This means that
openness and freedom is not true that it favors the markets, favors the most powerful, in this case, the one who produces
. "
Fernández also spoke of the emergence of China as an international buyer and how that affected the Argentine market.
"As the demand was so great, the international price rose so much and those prices began to compete with those of the domestic market. Now it is easier to access exports.
All this generates a tension in external prices that cannot hold more
", He said.
For this reason, he warned that "the price of meat grows without any justification" and even mentioned that "the most striking thing is that it increases while demand decreases",
"Today we are consuming the lowest level of meat. Prices are growing non-stop. We have to correct that.
We have to put order in those who export, in the Liniers Market.
It is not possible for meat to be sold there for export", he pointed.
The rejection of the sector and a possible protest
In the long note, Fernández also spoke of the 8-day marketing cessation that the Liaison Committee will carry out in rejection of the export stocks and said that "it is the only reaction they have."
In this context, he highlighted the meeting he had with the exporting meatpacks and affirmed that he received proposals that he promised to apply "from the very beginning."
Without giving further details, he said that they talked about only the meat processing plants that have been dedicated to export can be exported;
put an end to the exporters
"who export meats as they export shirts
" and "return consumers to the domestic market."
Meat increased 65% in the last year, well above high inflation.
"The appearance of China buying meat has been a great temptation. They pay very high prices and for everyone it becomes a unique opportunity," he stressed.
In addition, he took the opportunity to question Mauricio Macri's policy by stating that "they opened everything for nothing."
"One of the secrets to producing cattle is that one does not kill bellies to slaughter and that the weight is not less than 260 kilos. They were 224 kilos with Cristina and 225 kilos with Macri. What growth policy did the previous government take advantage of? The price of the roast in 2015 was $ 77 and in December 2019 it was 300, "he said.
Although he did not want to delve into the measures that he announced will be applied while the export restrictions last, the President spoke of the possibility of "establishing quotas to supply the domestic market" and did not rule out raising withholdings, although he left a warning: "No we know if with the big difference in prices that there is, that is enough. They would have to be very high retentions ".
JPE
Look also
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