BC of Argentina announces measures for agricultural sector hit by drought

BC of Argentina announces measures for agricultural sector hit by drought

Argentina’s Central Bank will adopt measures to facilitate financing for the country’s grain sector, which has been hard hit by drought, the institution said on Thursday (2).

The aid will include more flexible terms on industry defaults and subsidized credit lines.

The measures will ease Dec. 31 rules for defaulting on farmers who are facing the worst drought in about 60 years, which has cut the wheat harvest in half and delayed the planting of soybeans and corn.

“Today we adopted measures to favor the financing of the productive sector hit by the drought, including more flexible deadlines for determining default and the possibility of access to subsidized credit lines”, said the Central Bank.

Argentina is the world’s largest exporter of soybean meal and oil and third in corn. It is also an important producer of wheat and beef, but farmers have been severely hampered by the lack of rain since last year, a situation that is only starting to improve now.

Source: CNN Brasil