ARGENTINA-FARM DISPUTE.
Farmers to take beef to Congress
Farmers who have been confronting the government for over a year yesterday came out disappointed from the fourth meeting with ministers in as many weeks and called on grassroots for a new plan to fight for lower export duties, pinning its hopes in Congress, which despite several defections is still controlled by the Victory Front of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
"Regrettably, the government’s main priority is revenue. As from this moment the (farmers’) liaison board sets the debate in Congress as one of its main priorities," Eduardo Buzzi, one of Argentina’s more well-known farm leaders, told reporters after the meeting between the farmers and Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo, Production Minister Débora Giorgi and Agriculture Secretary Carlos Cheppi.
Randazzo has already underlined that the ruling party will not facilitate quorum for the debate.
Mario Llambías, head of the Argentine Agrarian Confederation (CRA), said that during the meeting the government "made it only too clear that it would not lower duties."
ARGENTINA-EXPORT DUTIES ON FARM GOODS.
Farmers to press Congress on export duties.
Buzzi said that the government has offered some partial measures for wheat and beef, but that it adamantly refuses to bow to farmers’ main demand, a reduction in the 35-percent export grain duties weighing on soybeans, the country’s main foreign currency earner. He also said that they urged the government to review its decision to nationalize the road grain freight permits that were until recently managed by Buzzi’s Argentine Agrarian Federation (FAA) and to instruct state-run Banco Nación to refrain from auctioning property of indebted farmers.
Llambías said that they still needed measures for the dairy sector, wheat and regional economies (namely wool, honey and hide). Randazzo said, however, that there has been progress on financing, regional economies and help for farmers affected by the worst-ever drought in the country, which has been a factor in leading it to harvest this season about 30 million tons less than the 95 million of last season. Randazzo added that "we will make every possible effort to find solutions, but we will not squander the effort of millions of Argentines."
Buzzi said that during the meetings the ministers adopted a stance as if like saying "OK, now go and see how you manage in Congress." He added that the government’s fostering a bill to bring forward mid-term elections to June 28 from October 25 on allegations that otherwise governability would be at risk amid the global economic crisis, "doesn’t change farmers’ priorities."
Mrs. Kirchner’s predecessor and husband Néstor Kirchner, who chairs the Peronist Party, yesterday said at a rally in La Plata that "the differences with the rural federations must be defined on June 28." The bill on the election yesterday cleared the committee stage and is due to be debated today in the Lower House.
Congress in July last year forced Mrs. Kirchner to roll back to 35 percent the sharp increases she had imposed on March last year alleging that farmers were reaping windfall benefits and that she needed the extra revenue to foster a more even distribution of riches. Grain prices plunged a few months later amid the global crisis.
Farmers in more than 30 towns in several provinces awaited the outcome of yesterday’s meeting at the roadsides and farm leaders called grassroots to continue at the roadsides, to lobby legislators in Congress and those who are closer to Buenos Aires to march to the city to press their demands that Congress debate an opposition bill to lower duties.
Attending the meeting with the government officials were also Carlos Garetto, head of Coninagro and Hugo Biolcati, the chairman of the Argentine Rural Society (SRA).
Asked by the Herald whether farmers could stage new export sales boycotts in case Congress fails to lower duties, Biolcati said that no form of protest should be ruled out. In their year-long dispute with the government farmers several times launched export grain sales boycotts that deprived the government of revenu
e, and road blockades that hampered exports and caused food shortages in one of the world’s largest food exporters.
Farmers said that despite all difficulties they would continue meeting with government officials. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 31, considering that Tuesday 24 is a holiday.
BRAZIL-OLD MEAT TRADE RIVALS MAY JOIN FORCES.
Brazil’s largest meat processor, Sadia, said on Monday it was considering a business tie-up with Perdigao, another major meat processor and exporter.
Sadia said in a statement to the Sao Paulo stock exchange after the market closed that it was analyzing with Perdigao "the viability and the convergence of interests in some type of association."
It gave no further details on the type of cooperation being considered and said no agreement had been reached.
Sadia was among a handful of leading Brazilian companies that announced heavy currency losses as the global financial crisis roiled markets last year.
The company last year reported a third-quarter net loss of 777 million reais ($342 million) mainly from foreign exchange derivatives losses.
In 2006, Sadia tried to acquire control of Perdigao with a hostile takeover bid that was rejected by Perdigao shareholders.
UNITED STATES-TYSON ENTER BILLION DOLLAR PET FOOD MARKET.
With the economy going to the dogs, meatpacking giant Tyson Foods Inc. is forming an alliance to make a product its executives think is recession-proof: deli-like food for pets.
Tyson, Springdale , Ark. , is expected to announce Tuesday that it bought a minority stake for millions of dollars in closely held Freshpet Co., a Secaucus, N.J., company that is rolling out refrigerated dog food to thousands of stores such as Kroger, Supervalu and PetSmart.
The Freshpet brand is unusual because the company’s executives, a collection of former Meow Mix managers, are trying to make dog food look, smell and taste as much like human food as possible. The line, the first national brand of refrigerated pet food, is aimed at consumers who give their pets everything from clothes and car seats to cemetery graves.
"Everyone talks about the humanization of pets," said Scott Morris, Freshpet marketing vice president. "But pet food looks the same as it did 30 years ago."
Tyson, which is being battered by gyrating feed costs and slowing consumer demand for pricey steaks and chops, is betting that some consumers won’t cut corners when it comes to their pets. It is a phenomenon that is coming under increasing scrutiny during the recession.
Paul Bulcke, chief executive of Swiss foods giant Nestlé SA, which owns several pet-food brands, said earlier this month that consumers who have "humanized" their pets refuse to trade down despite the economic climate.
Jeff Webster, a Tyson group vice president, said he expects refrigerated pet food to grow into a $500 million sales category within five years. "We want to make Freshpet huge," he said. Freshpet, which started operations in 2006, generated less than $100 million in 2008 revenue.
As part of its alliance, Tyson will begin to make Freshpet products this year and will use the Tyson truck fleet to haul Freshpet products to stores alongside Tyson’s microwavable dinners, chicken breasts and hamburger. Tyson, which also is opening its research kitchens to Freshpet, is stopping short of using the Tyson brand on dog food, however.
Until now, the meatpacking industry has been content to sell scraps such as chicken fat and byproducts to makers of canned and
