So much so, that fuel prices have chained a brutal escalation in recent months that complicates both consumers and companies.
In our country, one of the sectors that consumes the most fuel is agriculture. According to data from the Department of Economic Studies of the Rosario Stock Exchange, the field demanded 2,050 million liters of diesel in the 2020/2021 agricultural campaign and invested more than US $ 1,700 million to put into operation the machinery for planting tasks , fertilization and harvest.
The data that arises from the survey that the economists Guido D’Angelo and Emilce Terré of the Rosario entity made, where a total planted area of just over 37 million hectares was taken as a reference. Soybean production consumes about 45% of this total, while corn and wheat consume 20% and 17%, respectively.
Another sector that also strongly drives fuel demand is grain transportation. Between freight to stockpiles, factories and ports, and taking into account the proportions of transport by truck and train, diesel consumption is estimated at around 1,130 million liters.
Beyond the statistical data, the impact of the war and the price increases in diesel will have to be faced by the producers and part of the agribusiness chain. As D’Angelo explained to Ámbito, the impact on the business will be partial and will apply to the consumption of diesel in the work and the transportation of the thick harvest, which has just started in many crops. Only in sunflower there is a considerable advance, with 38% of the harvested area, since the campaign began in the month of January”. As for the thick campaign, “the new commercial year for corn has just begun, and soybeans are just being harvested in their first batches, with their campaign starting in April this year.”
The analyst also explained that “according to our estimates of planted area and production, together with our consumption matrix, the grain chains still have to consume about 310 million liters for the missing crops, and 876 million liters for transport them, giving us a total of more than 1,186 million liters of demand that has not yet materialized”.
The economic impact on the agricultural business will be marked and is added to those that the producer will have with the purchase of the rest of the necessary inputs that are also linked to gas or oil.
According to the calculations of the BCR analyst, “taking the last increase in diesel and considering the pending consumption, we estimate an impact on the chains of around $13,164 million, which is equivalent to about 120 million dollars taking the average BNA buyer exchange rate. of the last days.
It is worth clarifying that to carry out the calculation, the entity took as a reference its own estimates of production and representative prices, which may vary depending on the supplier and the area where diesel is demanded.
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