La Jornada: Agricultural and fishing sectors, without fuel support for May

In an environment marked by the global uncertainty generated by the conflict in the Middle East and an apparent lull in price increases, agricultural producers and fishermen will not have government support to cushion increases in the cost of fuel during May.

This Thursday, the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) published in the Official Gazette of the Federation the agreement in which the fiscal stimuli for gasoline and diesel in the fishing and agricultural sectors are announced for the fifth month of the year. There it reads that neither low-octane gasoline (better known as Magna) nor diesel will have support.

These stimuli are independent of those that the Treasury discloses every Friday for the general public. While these are applied to all consumers and seek to smooth changes in prices at service stations, those aimed at the fishing and agricultural sectors function as a specific benefit for producers, with their own rules and mechanisms.

For a consecutive month, the SHCP has applied incentives to fuel for the general public, with which the government absorbs part of the tax for each liter of fuel. When the percentage is higher, you pay less; When it is reduced, the tax disbursed is higher.

The cost of gasoline and diesel depends mainly on the international price of oil, the exchange rate and taxes. The importance of diesel is key for the agricultural and fishing sector, since it is used in tractors, machinery and boats.