The Board of Directors of the Central Bank (BCRA) approved today a new instrument (Communication “A” 7556) to encourage agricultural producers to sell their soybean harvest before August 31.
In exchange, they will receive exchange coverage for up to 70% of the grain sales they make and, for the remaining 30%, the possibility of buying dollars at the official exchange rate plus PAÍS tax and withholdings collected by the AFIP, at a "savings dollar" exchange rate, which today is equivalent to $226,05 pesos per dollar unit.
Specifically, in the case of 70% of the income generated by the sale, producers will be able to make a demand deposit in financial institutions with variable daily remuneration based on the evolution of the A3500 exchange rate, known as the Dollar Link.
In addition, for the remaining 30%, the Formation of External Assets will be allowed, at the official dollar value plus the PAÍS tax and the withholdings collected by the AFIP.
"This decision by the BCRA seeks to balance agricultural producers with the benefits available to the different productive sectors," the monetary body said in a statement.
Among the benefits, he pointed out the free availability of foreign currency for the increase in exports made compared to the previous year, which applies to the manufacturing industry; the Regime for the Promotion of Investment for Exports or the regime for the Knowledge Industry, which allows part of the increase in exports to be applied to the payment of wages.
According to the monetary authority, this regime "will be available until August 31."
"During this period, producers will be able to acquire freely available foreign currency for 30% of the funds obtained from the sale of grains for export and convert 70% into a freely available deposit with variable remuneration based on the evolution of the official exchange rate," the BCRA said.
According to sources from the Central Bank, the grain liquidation regime seeks to "recognize the value in foreign currency of the asset (soybeans in this case) and to dispel the uncertainty regarding a devaluation, which is present in the different economic actors."
"The objective is to unblock the threat of a sector that thought that it was necessary to lower withholdings and create a farmer's dollar," said the sources, who assured that the measure is "well discussed with the banks and the capital market" and that, if it works satisfactorily, "it could be extended to other export sectors."
To give an example of how the measure works: in a sale of $1 million in soybeans, the producer will be able to make a deposit of $700.000 that will be compensated by the daily evolution of the official dollar.
With the remaining $300.000, you will be able to purchase around $1.327 at the price of the so-called "savings dollar," taking as a reference today's exchange rate of $226,05 at Banco Nación.
The advantage for the producer is that these dollars are freely available: they can leave them in the bank, withdraw them or use them to buy supplies or carry out any authorized financial transaction.
Currently, the producer has the alternative of making a deposit for the total sale in a fixed term for the farm (minimum 30 days), which is also updated by the A3500 dollar, although the availability of these funds is conditioned by the term for which it was made.
Instead, with this new provision they can make the deposit and have the remuneration and availability immediately.
"It has the advantage of not taking the risks of keeping the harvest in the fields and of being able to take advantage of any business opportunity due to the immediate and automatic availability of funds. The structure of this system takes into account traditional commercial and savings practices of the activity," the sources said.
According to various estimates, the BCRA authorities estimate that the soybean harvest that was sold, with no price set yet, is worth around US$ 10.000 billion and therefore remains in storage awaiting the transaction to be carried out.
"For the Central Bank, this means the possibility of anticipating the entry of foreign currency into the economy with a neutral economic balance, since it manages the value of the dollar A3500 in which deposits can be made, while the AFIP will be able to collect the country tax and the withholding tax on earnings, in the purchase operations of foreign currency," detailed the entity chaired by Miguel Pesce.Communication “A” 7556)
Source: Telam
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