Argentina intervenes in wheat market to quash food inflation

Argentina will intervene in the local wheat market to guarantee supplies to local millers and keep prices of commodities such as flour and pasta low in the country, the Productive Development Ministry said in an emailed statement on Thursday.

"The mechanism responds to the need to decouple prices to protect the domestic market in a global context of war and sustained high wheat prices," it said, adding that the measure would run until January 31, 2024.

Under the policy, described in the statement as a "financial mechanism" and a "fund," 800,000 metric tonnes of wheat will be allocated to domestic millers. The statement did not specify a time frame.

The Ministry said Gustavo Idiogras, head of crop export chamber Ciara, was at the meeting of government and industry representatives at which the policy was decided.