Tension intensifies with meat sector | The green light…

As negotiations with the livestock sector continue, the government hardens its position with control measures and in the coming days, he hopes to launch a new program of increased export control, either through the ban on the sale abroad of certain cuts, quotas or increases in levies. These tools would make it possible to lift the total closure of beef exports which has been in effect for more than ten days.

the The Ministry of Agriculture suspended 12 meat exporting companies on Monday to “not pay for foreign currencies or enter false addresses, among other charges”. The measure is part of a “meat export market order and control policy“Considered the government. The suspended or deregistered signatures are part of the group of 19 refrigerators recently denounced by customs” for having carried out suspected fraudulent meat export operations”, With fines in the amount of 5.8 million dollars. Meanwhile, five other exporters have been intimidated into submitting information on their sales.

As the government tightens its control posture, the direction of the Liaison Table does the same in the area of ​​declarations. “In the corridors of Liniers today zero animals have also entered. We continue our fight and we say NO to the closure of exports“, Posted on Monday on his Twitter account of the Argentinian Rural Confederations (CRA), while the Rural Society linked the current measures to those adopted in the governments of Cristina Fernández and criticized that” between 2006 and 2015, 10 million heads have been lost in Stock cattle. ”The two entities, in collaboration with Coninagro and the Agrarian Federation, are carrying out a stopping the marketing of cattle breeding in place since May 20 in response to the temporary shutdown of meat exports. At first, the measure was going to be lifted around the last hour of Friday, but it was extended until the end of the day on Wednesday.

In any case, there are still gateways for dialogue between the Ministry of Productive Development and the livestock sector. The dialogue is taking place specifically with slaughterhouses, which are among those affected by the closure of exports. The current state of affairs is transitory from all points of view: farmers do not accept losing sales abroad but The government does not want to do without this tap of money either.

However, so far there are no clear common resultsThe companies have since proposed an extension of the affordable meat procurement program, which is insufficient for the government at this stage. La Casa Rosada, meanwhile, offers a total reversal is not possible and that the controls will continue by the prohibition of the exports of the most popular cuts or by quotas or higher retentions.

On the other hand, the government specifies that this new scheme will also include medium and long term measures to stimulate animal activity and avoid the drop in stock that has occurred in the past.

Beyond the negotiation phase, the government is advancing on irregularities in the sector. Customs denounced 19 meat processing plants for carrying out suspected fraudulent meat export operations. The total amount of fines imposed by the control and inspection body dependent on AFIP amounts to $ 5.8 million. These businesses declared goods incorrectly to reduce tax burden and under-invoiced sales. “The slaughterhouses denounced have declared that exports of bones and meat are unsuitable for human consumption, goods that pay 5 percent of export duties. However, the inspection carried out by customs detected that it was food suitable for human consumption, products that have an aliquot of 9 percent, ”they explained of the customs. Shipments from the denounced companies were mainly shipped to China and Hong Kong.

In addition, the The Agriculture Ministry suspended 12 of the 19 cold rooms for “failing to pay currency or register false addresses, among other charges.“. “With these joint actions, we seek to eliminate unfair competition in the frozen meat export market, which was also a demand of the entire industry. The work carried out through the Single Register of the Agri-Food Chain (RUCA) has enabled us to have a description of the companies, and to detect the inconsistencies that hinder the normal development of the activity ”, expressed Luciano Zarich, Director of Control. Agricultural Commercial.