MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina extends cap on meat exports, producers may halt all activity

President Fernández's decisions harm the entire country, Pino said

The Government of Argentina has extended the cap on meat exports until October 31, claiming it was because the measure had been effective in helping curb domestic prices.

Agrifood producers gathered under the so-called Liaison Table are eyeing strikes and other measures which would likely not have a good impact on the administration of President Alberto Fernández less than two weeks before the Open Primary, Simultaneous and Mandatory elections scheduled for Sept. 12.

According to the new resolution published Tuesday in the Official Gazette, a 50% cap remains effective on all shipments abroad, based on figures from the second half of 2020.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Liaison Table convened Tuesday in the city of Santa Fe to discuss the following steps, although the measure did not take them exactly by surprise.

According to the rationale for the extension “in terms of prices, the impact of the measures that limited sales abroad temporarily has begun to show positive results”, since “after two months of validity, prices stabilized and even showed certain retraction in different links of the chain,” the ministerial resolution stated.

“Consequently, it can be observed that the measures taken have met the objective of reducing price dynamics,” it went on.

However, the document admitted that “the structural solution to the tension between the external market and the internal market is linked to measures to increase production.”
Under the present circumstances, producers have threatened with stopping the meat trade.

“The decisions made by President Alberto Fernández are not good for Argentina. He did not keep his word and ideology overcomes rationality, impoverishing everyone,” Argentine Rural Society (SRA) President Nicolás Pino said Tuesday.

“We are not happy not only because of the sector I represent: we are not happy because the decisions made by the National Government evidently harm the entire country,” he added.