November 30, 2006

 

Argentina's agricultural group to launch strike over government intervention

 

 

The Argentine Rural Confederation (ARC) will begin a total strike on Sunday to protest government intervention, the head of the group said Wednesday (Nov 29).

 

The announcement comes after a day of meetings between the ARC and the Argentine Rural Federation. A confederation spokesman had said earlier Wednesday that both groups planned to go on strike Friday.

 

The strike "is going to be for more than a week, but we still have not determined for how long," confederation president Mario Llambias said at a press conference.

 

Llambias described the strike as "total," saying his group would "not buy or sell anything," with the exception of perishable items.

 

Farm groups are incensed by a series of government measures designed to prevent price inflation for domestic wheat, corn and beef products.

 

The government is expected to announce new export limits on beef on Friday, when the current export regulations expire. The government sees export limitations as a way to lower rising domestic prices.

 

The country is considering limiting beef exports to 45,000 tonnes a month starting in December, according to an Agricultural Secretariat spokesman. This would be a sharp cut in exports. In September, Argentina shipped 58,237 tonnes of beef, according to the animal and food inspection agency Senasa.

 

The beef measure comes after the government last week closed the registry for new-crop corn exports after a flood of recent export declarations. The closure is temporary and the government will begin to accept new corn export declarations once the registry is reviewed and all current declarations verified, Secretary of Agriculture Miguel Campos said.

 

However, the government announced the creation of a registry of all domestic corn consumers, fuelling speculation that some measures will be taken to ensure domestic needs are met. Poultry, pork and feedlot cattle are the primary domestic consumers of Argentina's corn.

 

In addition, the Agricultural Secretariat has submitted a plan to the Economy Ministry that would force exporters to sell one half a tonne of wheat to domestic millers at a discounted price for every tonne of wheat they export. The move is designed to keep down the domestic price of bread.