In Córdoba, Salvador Di Stefano spoke about the new economic direction and the historic opportunity for the countryside

The economist Salvador Di Stefano was in Córdoba, where he arrived to present his book "Change the music, now it's time to change the step."

For years, the Argentine countryside coexisted with a paradox: being one of the main generators of foreign currency for the country and, at the same time, one of the sectors that transferred the most resources to the State through taxes and export duties. According to the economist and analyst , that cycle is beginning to change.

In a recent presentation, Di Stefano stated that one of the historical mistakes of producers was having resigned resources for decades without building conditions to regain competitiveness. In this context, he estimated that the sector transferred about US$ 40 billion to the Argentine economic system through withholdings.

But beyond the figure, the economist focused on what he considers a change of era. In his view, the new economic direction is beginning to modify variables that have conditioned agriculture for years: lower inflation, reduction of public spending, signals of tax cuts, and an economy more oriented towards private investment.

The central expectation, according to Di Stefano

For Di Stefano, a sustained elimination or reduction of export duties, as the government of Javier Milei is doing, would have a direct effect on producer profitability and would open a new cycle of growth for the productive interior.

The improvement of margins would not only allow for the recovery of income, but also accelerate investment decisions, technology incorporation, and scale expansion.

In this reading, agriculture appears as one of the sectors best positioned to capitalize on a potential structural change.

“The Argentine producer knows how to produce in difficult scenarios; if incentives improve, the response can be very quick,” is the idea that runs through the economist's proposal.

The analysis also incorporates a cultural change within the agricultural business. In a context of greater macroeconomic stability, the producer would stop focusing exclusively on shielding against inflation or protecting capital to think again about efficiency, productivity, and growth.

This, Di Stefano argues, could redefine the map of rural investments in the coming years.

The underlying discussion goes beyond agriculture. The question is whether a lower tax burden can translate into more production, more exports, and greater wealth generation.

For those who share this view, the challenge is no longer to demonstrate that agriculture can produce more: the question is how much it could grow.