Minister Óscar Mario Justiniano: "YPFB must provide certainty to the productive sector"

Bolivia's productive sector faces a critical juncture, with the sugar harvest significantly delayed by a persistent diesel shortage. Minister of Productive Development, Rural Areas, and Water, Óscar Mario Justiniano, emphasized that the state oil company, YPFB, must provide clear certainty about fuel availability. "YPFB has to give the productive sector certainty," Justiniano stated, calling for the company to specify when and where fuel will be accessible.

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YPFB has to give the productive sector certainty.

The minister acknowledged that fuel demand varies across different agricultural areas and activities, from planting to harvesting and fertilizing. However, he stressed the necessity for YPFB to establish a coordination mechanism with various sectors. This would allow the company to understand production movements and guarantee fuel where it is most needed, rather than focusing solely on the national total volume.

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It has to see the pertinent answers.

In Santa Cruz, a key agricultural region, the situation is particularly dire. The sugar harvest, which should be around 30% complete by this time of year, has barely reached 12%. Tractors and harvesters, essential for the harvest, are spending hours, even days, queuing at fuel stations to obtain diesel. This scarcity not only cripples agricultural operations but also severely impacts the transportation sector, further exacerbating the economic strain on producers who are also grappling with low liquidity and depressed sugar prices.

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YPFB necessarily has to generate an instance that does exist of coordination with the different sectors to understand how production is moving. That is what it has to guarantee, not necessarily the total volume of the country, but where it is necessary.