April 4, 2006

 

Argentina's ranchers protest against beef export ban

 

 

Hundreds of cattle ranchers gathered in the rain Monday (Apr 3) to protest the Argentine government's ban on beef exports and other policies that they say negatively affect their livelihood.

 

This was the latest in a series of protests in rural Argentina against the government's agricultural policies.

 

So far the protests have been relatively quiet and have not threatened the sale or shipment of commodities like other protests in recent years, which blocked ports or completely shut down the trade of grain and oilseed products.

 

Carbap, the country's leading ranchers' organisation, supported the protest Monday, saying it was necessary to let people know how the government's policies are hurting the agricultural sector.

 

"Carbap is backing this demonstration because there are people that are very negatively affected by the government's policies and the rest of the country needs to know this," Carbap Spokesman Jose Casado said.

 

Carbap represents ranchers who own more than half of Argentina's 55 million cows.

 

Monday's protest took place in Trenque Lauquen, a small town about 450 kilometres southwest of Buenos Aires City.

 

Ranchers blocked roads with tractors and held a demonstration in the town centre.

 

The vast bulk of Argentina's cattle are located in this part of the country.

 

Casado said protests are also planned for Saturday and next Monday.

 

"We need to demonstrate to let people know what we think," he said.

 

Carbap officials will meet next week to decide what additional measures are needed to show the sector's opposition to government policies.

 

"We'll later make a decision about whether or not to carry out harder protest measures," Casado said.

 

Ranchers want to talk personally with Argentine President Nestor Kirchner about his policies.

 

Kirchner has slammed the sector repeatedly in recent weeks and has refused to meet with representatives of the agriculture community since he took office about three years ago.

 

Kirchner's predecessor, Eduardo Duhalde, slapped export taxes on grain, oilseed and beef exports in 2002 to help raise tax revenue at a time when government income was tanking amid a historical economic crisis. Duhalde raised export taxes to as high as 23.5 percent on soybean exports and 20 percent on other grains.

 

Farmers protested and helped shut down the grain trade in 2002.

 

Kirchner has continued Duhalde's policies and even increased the tax burden on the agricultural sector, but up until now he has not faced any organised street protests from the farm sector.

 

Kirchner has said farmers and ranchers can protest all they want, but that this would not make him change his policies.