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LatinNews Daily - 06 September 2022

In brief: Argentina’s agribusiness sector responds to ‘soy dollar’

*Argentina’s main farming associations have reacted cautiously to the economy ministry’s announcement that it was rolling out a preferential exchange rate for soybean farmers in September, known as the “soy dollar”, in a bid to promote exports and boost foreign currency reserves. Economy Minister Sergio Massa announced the measure on 4 September, which allows producers to exchange foreign currency gained from soybean exports at Ar$200 to the US dollar, rather than the official rate of Ar$140 per US dollar. Massa said the programme sought to “promote exports, improve the reality of producers, help regional economies and strengthen [foreign currency] reserves”. He said the main agro-exporting companies had agreed with the economy ministry to convert at least US$5bn into Argentine pesos in September. Nicolás Pino, head of agribusiness lobby, the Sociedad Rural Argentina (SRA), told local media that the measure would boost foreign currency reserves and welcomed it as a “first step towards a normality in which each producer can sell at the price it is worth”. However, Pino stated that the preferential rate remained below the value that soybean fetched on US markets and was only a very temporary measure. Carlos Achetoni, the head of Argentina’s Federación Agraria (FAA), another farming lobby, noted the measure only benefitted a narrow section of the agribusiness sector. The ‘soy dollar’ programme is voluntary, and will run from 5 to 30 September.

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