Paraguay Worrying over Drought
The predicted drought for the coming months in Paraguay will worsen the economic situation, as agricultural producers have already reported losses of up to 40 percent in soy bean crops, the country´s main income source.

Hector Cristaldo, president of Paraguay´s Agricultural Coordinating Office (CAP), assured the lack of rains will cause agricultural losses of up to 60 percent.

Debts with suppliers of agricultural inputs and machinery, as well as financial ones are considerable. Public financing is minimal, as the National Promotion Bank and the Agricultural Rehabilitation Credit only assign 15 of the 300 million dollars needed for each harvest.

Paraguay closed 2005 with a 2.7 percent economic growth, far below the 4.1 percent registered in 2004, due to a severe drought.

With a projected deficit budget at nearly 2 percent of its Gross National Product, the South American country needs positive numbers not to complicate its macroeconomic picture, and be able to assign resources to fight poverty and generate jobs.