Argentine farmers, government, exchange demands amid tension

Jun 17, 2008, 17:58 GMT

Buenos Aires - The Argentine government insisted Tuesday that farmers end their protests and get back to work amidst a climate of tension and shortages of food and fuel.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was set to address the nation later Tuesday.

Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo said a pro-government rally scheduled to take place Wednesday in the historic Plaza de Mayo in central Buenos Aires would not be cancelled despite criticism.

'The country is much more worried about whether they lift the farmers' strike, which has held the Argentine people hostage for 100 days,' Randazzo said.

He added that the government remains 'ready for dialogue and talks to find a future path, but without conditions.'

Argentine farmers launched a new strike Sunday, suspending till Wednesday the sale of grain for export. This is the fourth such strike in recent months.

The crisis has been brewing since March, when an increase in export tariffs for soybeans and sunflower went into effect, tying tariffs to international market prices.

The average tariff on soy was increased from 35 to over 43 per cent, at the current prices. The move levy was initially intended apply to almost all of the surplus if the price for soybeans were to rise above 600 dollars a tonne, but the government has since modified this to set a tax ceiling.

Late Monday many people in Argentine urban areas engaged in so- called 'cacerolazos' - banging pots and pans - and hooting horns to demand that the government settle the crisis. The farmers' protest has come coupled with shortages, since trucks cannot move freely through the country's roads.

The latest strike measure was launched after the central government on Saturday called in police to clear protestors from the nation's roads, where they have been blocking the trarnsport of goods and fuel.

One of the farmers' leaders, Alfredo de Angeli, was detained for several hours.

Several provincial governors called for dialogue Tuesday, and rifts became apparent within the pro-government camp.

Argentina is the third-largest producer of soybeans in the world, after the United States and Brazil. More than 95 per cent of its production is exported.

In March, a complete blockade of agricultural production caused severe food shortages in large urban areas and provoked traffic problems. In April, farmers opted to block the export of cereal and other key products, like soybeans.

In their third protest, farmers again took to the roads in late May. Although their leaders asked that they not disturb traffic, the passage of trucks carrying agricultural produce was blocked in some areas.

Cereal transport trucks in turn have blockaded roads in the central provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Cordoba and Entre Rios - in the so-called Wet Pampa - to protest over the lack of work in recent months.