(Adds information, background)
BUENOS AIRES, April 5 (Reuters) - Argentina's government
on Wednesday announced a new plan setting a special exchange
rate of 300 pesos per dollar to encourage soybean exports amid
severe financial difficulties and foreign exchange shortages.
The program, known locally as the "soy dollar," aims to
increase sales and exports of soybeans and their derivatives by
offering producers a higher exchange rate than the official
rate.
Economy Minister Sergio Massa said that the latest
program will run from April 8 to May 31 and that there will also
be tax benefits to favor small regional producers affected by
the country's ongoing drought.
Argentina is the world's top exporter of soy meal and
soy oil, and the "soy dollar" has spiked the influx of foreign
currency to the cash-strapped central bank in the past.
The South American country's ruling Justicialist Party
expects
the policy will spur
$15 billion dollars in soy exports between the second and
third quarter, easing the hurdles farmers are facing in the
midst of the drought.
(Reporting by Nicolas Misculin; Editing by Isabel Woodford)
