Foreign media, September 21 news: Argentina’s agriculture ministry said last week Argentina farmers continued to sell soybean stocks after the government introduced a series of carrot-and-stick measures aimed at stimulating exports.

As of the end of last week, 2021/22 soybean sales had reached 61.8%. Argentine farmers sold 2.3 million tonnes of soybeans for the 2021/22 harvest between Sept. 8 and 14, up from 2.1 million the previous week, official data showed.

For comparison, soybean sales in the last week of August were only 268,100 tons. But soybean sales surged after the government introduced a more favorable exchange rate on September 5.

Farmers have been reluctant to sell soybeans before, because farmers see soybeans as hard currency against inflation and currency depreciation amid high inflation and a depreciating peso.

Argentina’s central bank said that from September 20, soybean farmers participating in the “soybean dollar” mechanism will not be able to enter the foreign exchange market to purchase foreign exchange, nor will they be able to conduct business in foreign currency settlements.

Argentina’s central bank’s new move could lead to a drop in soybean sales this week, said Gustavo Idigras, head of the Argentine Oilseed Crushers and Exporters Chamber (CIARA-CEC).