Buenos Aires, December 23 (NA) — Andresito, one of the most popular yerba mate companies, announced it must suspend payments due to a lack of liquidity. This is one of the companies affected by the deregulation of the yerba mate sector two years ago. In a letter sent to partners, the cooperative said that "due to the current economic situation, it is in a complex financial position", according to the Argentine News Agency (Agencia Noticias Argentinas). The entity explained that "unfortunately, payments will not be able to be made until further notice", in the letter signed by the head of the cooperative, Juan Carlos Amann. Andresito is the 11th largest yerba mate company in the country, with sales of 5.5 million kilograms between January and last October. According to market sources, the number of yerba mate and drying industries that cannot pay producers due to a lack of liquidity is increasing. The drop in consumption is one of the factors explaining the complex scenario for yerba mate companies. Yerba mate sales fell by almost 10% in the last year. In addition, the deregulations implemented in the yerba mate sector caused the real prices of yerba mate to fall by 44%.
However, yerba mate companies have faced a sharp increase in costs in wages, energy, transportation, and other items.
