- Title: ARGENTINA: Farmers continue protest against taxes
- Date: 16th May 2008
- Summary: (BN01) BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (FILE) (REUTERS ) VARIOUS OF SOY HARVEST IN PROGRESS
- Embargoed: 31st May 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Argentina
- Country: Argentina
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA200YZG81NF9HJFB29SNQL0B6Y
- Story Text: Argentine farmers opposed to a hike in export taxes on Thursday (May 15) extended a strike in one of the world's leading agricultural producers, deepening a political challenge to President Cristina Fernandez.
Farmers in Argentina , a top global exporter of soy, wheat and corn, are locked in a standoff with the government over a new sliding-scale export tax that farmers say effectively caps prices for their goods.
They halted grains sales last week and began staging roadside protests, raising supply fears on global markets where Argentina accounts for nearly 3 percent of world food exports.
The strike threatens to hit exports from Argentina , the world's No. 2 corn exporter and the third-biggest soy supplier at time of growing global concerns about food shortages.
The strike also could slow economic growth in South America 's No. 2 economy, one of the world's fastest growing.
Farmers launched their second strike in as many months on May 8, saying weeks of talks with the government had failed to resolve their demands for a change in the tax.
"We're asking the president that she meet with us as soon as possible to discuss concretely, to find concrete solutions about these issues," said Eduardo Buzzi, the president of the Argentine Agrarian Federation, one the four main farm groups leading the strike.
The Argentine leader has rejected farmer demands to roll back the tax hike. She defends the higher taxes as a key part of her economic plan to contain inflation and redistribute wealth from a commodities boom.
On Wednesday, Fernandez made an appeal for dialogue in a speech before thousands of supporters. However, she did not mention the strike, although she refrained from criticizing the farmers as she has done in the past.
But farm leaders say the government has yet to make a concrete proposal on modifying the tax hike despite protracted negotiations.
The tax increase links grain levies to international prices, replacing a fixed levy with a variable rate.
But the decision to raise the taxes angered farmers already seething over government limits on exports aimed at controlling domestic food prices, even though they have benefited from state subsidies on fuel and policies that keep the currency week.
The strike is proving a political test for Fernandez, who took office just five months ago and has seen her government's popularity ratings slide as some Argentines complain about her handling of the standoff. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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