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A few days after being installed in the offices of Teatinos 40, Antonio Walker learned that bad news was going to hit the agri-food sector hard. Nearly 400 farmers in Maule would be affected by Iansa's decision to close one of its sugar factories, a necessary step to alleviate the critical situation facing the company because of the international behavior that records the price of sugar. , a commodity fell more than 30% in its quote from the year 2016 to the date.
This black scenario made that Iansa decided that in 2019 the Linares factory will not receive local beetroot, concentrating the operation in the facility located in Los Angeles and trying maintain the San Carlos plant operational, for which it needs a plantation area of some 15,000 hectares. This decision directly affects about 200 beet growers qualified small farmers, the same as today are the main concern of the Ministry of Agriculture.
To this day, and despite the desire of farmers, there is no window that can open hopes to revoke the decision that the Iansa administration, still headed by the recently renounced Jose Luis Irarrázaval, spoke in February with farmers in the region and that it was formally communicated to the government on April 11, thanks to the meeting that Joaquin Noguera, president of Iansa, and Gonzalo Sanhueza, director of the 39, company, quarreled with Antonio Walker
Therefore, the next day, the authority moved to the southern area of the seventh region. In the evening, it was presented at the casino of Iansa factory, located in the northern part of the Villa of San Ambrosio, and met with more than 400 people. "It was a difficult meeting, because I had no solution, but I had to talk.I went there because I thought the responsibility was to face the issue and that it was good, because this attitude was highly appreciated, "recalls Minister Walker
Prime of Emergency
And from there the conversations were maintained, says Mayor Maule, Pablo Milad , which explains that three months ago there is a working table attended by workers from the Iansa factory in Linares, sugar beet, beet and sugar unions and the regional government. "They evaluate all the alternatives that prevent it from causing greater economic damage to the inhabitants of the province of Linares," says Milad.
Analysis of Antonio Walker: "Although it's a private problem, the ministry involved body and me in trouble, because we want to provide good service to & # 39; agriculture. We are talking about 15,000 hectares of beetroot for an area like the seventh south, which is very poor and which, moreover, is going through a crisis of profitability in other crops, such as wheat and maize, "explains he
. This is not minor, because it is estimated that the closure of the plant will affect some five thousand people involved in the entire sugar production chain, which will have a big impact on the company. 39, local economy.
The bad news that Iansa informed the community was that the company can not continue to pay the same prices for contraction of the beet. For the 2018 season, it has agreed to pay US $ 51 per tonne, a value that will fall to US $ 47 per tonne for the 2019 harvest, a reduction which, together with the cost of transporting Maule beet to Chillán, makes unprofitable plantation. Farmers. "Farmers are making us see that this decision, a crop that was already limited in profitability, now leaves them directly with red numbers and, as a result, the incentive to plant is very low. That's why we are taking action on this, "says Walker.
The solution today is to reallocate resources from the degraded land program to small farmers that drive Indap and SAG for soil reclamation. Is about $ 1,500 million, about 3 million US dollars, for a period of three years, resources that will be bankrupt and that will allow the planting of 15 thousand hectares, enough for Iansa to operate the plants of Los Angeles and San Carlos Authority
"This is a reallocation of funds for an emergency, in quotation marks, like this one. Throughout the year there will be competitions where farmers can participate, "says Walker.
However, the farmers' wish is that finally the sugar mill will operate the three plants. "The closure of the factory (Linares) is not a definite reality, it depends on the hiring that we manage to close," says Jorge Uslar, vice president of the Association National Remolacheros.
The subject will continue to be discussed this week. On Friday a new meeting of the table is planned, where, in addition, the company should be present. The times are pressing because although the 2018 harvest season ends in September, farmers must start in August to prepare the land for the beet planting needed for the 2019 season. That's why July has become a month key to close this issue.
Irarrázaval resignation
And because of the urgency imposed by the dates, last Thursday was a complex day for the local sugar world. On that day, beet growers and workers agreed to meet Iansa. The meeting took place after the meeting of the council, meeting where the resignation of the director general of Iansa, José Luis Irarrázaval, after more than two decades in the company was communicated. The decision, discussed a long time ago with his family and with Noguera himself, did not work very well, as the company is negotiating with the government and farmers to define the future of beet planting. This is a bad sign, "says Antonio Walker, who received a call from Irarrázaval himself informing him of his decision to leave the company. "This further aggravates the situation related to what may influence the Ministry of Agriculture," he adds, adding that on Tuesday, he will speak with Joaquín Noguera to know the details of the decision of the current Director General, who will remain in office until August 31, 1945.
However, in the guild of beet growers, the departure of the executive could create a more open space for entering into agreements. "We see that this could be positive, because there is a change and that the person who comes will have no burden, therefore, who can be neutral or positive," says Jorge Uslar.
In Thursday's repertoire, it was agreed that The person who will continue the conversations will be Raimundo Díaz, Director of Commercial Ingredients, Agronomist of the Catholic University and with experience in the field. food industry, beverages and agriculture in the country.
Improving Results
But not everything was bad for Iansa. The company closed the first quarter of 2018 with a gain of US $ 2.4 million, a figure that compares positively to losses of US $ 2.6 million recorded in the same period in 2017.
And It is expected that the first half also has positive results. Has the company already absorbed the impact of the sugar price and also the effect that has generated the change in consumer behavior through the implementation of the law on the business? labeling, an effect that was strongly felt in 2016. In fact, inside the company indicate that before 2015, when the new regulations were promoted, consumption of sugar in Chile was down from 47 kilos per person in 2000 to 45 kilos in 2015. And in 2018, it is expected that the trend is maintained and closed with a consumption of 35 to 37 kilos per person. "Iansa's industrial customers have already made the necessary changes to comply with the law on labeling, but the amendments were based on the three stages of the law, which is why the impact is already supposed, "says an industry executive. Therefore, within the company, they expect to begin the upward cycle in terms of results, which will accompany, furthermore, a deepening of the plan. efficiency that currently drives the company and of the utmost importance that should start to appear The new business areas of Iansa that are not related to sugar, such as juice business, pasta and animal feed through the Cannes brand.
And to continue to improve the figures, the government also supported the company in the campaign to change the formula for calculating environmental taxes. The agribusiness sector is taking a good part of the year to discuss this problem with agriculture because they feel affected by the new tax that has brought in $ 200 million this year, of which 20% correspond to forestry and agribusiness companies.
In fact, Iansa paid 1.5 million US dollars for the green tax this year, the Linares factory being responsible for almost all of the tax. "It's an unfair tribute, we have seven agri-food industries that pay a hefty amount for this green tax, and what we're asking the finance department is to change the formula," admits Antonio Walker.
He adds that this sector occupies the boilers that are within the established limit to apply the tax -50 MW of installed capacity-only three or four months a year, that is why what is requested is d 39 calculate the calculation on the average of the expenses of the year and not in the reduced period of time. "The finance department is totally in agreement, that is, our argument has been heard in the treasury," Walker says.
The final decision, in any case, has not yet been made.
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