The Argentine Confederation of Medium Companies (CAME) has announced 57.7% of the nation's farms are facing economic difficulties, following losses in profitability, increased costs and a persistently lagging exchange rate.

The entity said the problem existed in almost all rural areas outside the Pampas, affecting 156,000 agricultural holdings where 890,000 people work in either permanent or temporary positions.

CAME said the main problem is the widening gap between domestic costs - fuel, logistics and wages - and the exchange rate for producer-exporters, with selling prices that clearly do not cover production costs.

"This is compounded by the difficult access to credit and the high tax burden in the activity, which makes profitability collapse," CAME said in a release.

CAME cited the main affected primary sectors as the olive, citrus, pome fruit, stonefruit, berry, wine, yerba mate, sugar, beekeeping and nut industries.

"Last year, together these small sectors exported US$8 billion, a figure of sizable significance for the country and the areas where they are located," the entity said.

"Regional economies need to recover their lost profitability."

Photo: El Ancasti

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