By Hugh Bronstein
BUENOS AIRES, June 12 (Reuters) - Argentina's export industry chamber said on Friday it was "deeply concerned" about the government's planned takeover of Vicentin, one of the country's top soy crushers and a key player in the agricultural export sector.
The takeover, which will require congressional approval, was announced by President Alberto Fernandez at the start of the week, sending shock waves through the industry as farmers, Vicentin and other exporters fretted that government intervention in the industry could compromise its independence.
"The division of powers enshrined in the Constitution must be respected," the CIARA-CEC export chamber said in a statement. "Violating them generates legal insecurity and questions about private property that could keep investment out of the country."
Fernandez characterized the takeover as the rescue of the bankrupt, Argentine family-owned company rather than a power grab by the state. But the business community and Vicentin itself have been clear in their opposition to the plan.
"We are not in agreement with the expropriation," Vicentin said in a statement issued late on Thursday after company directors met with Fernandez. Talks will continue with the Fernandez administration aimed at finding a "public-private solution," the statement said.
Argentina is the world's top supplier of soymeal livestock feed used to fatten hogs and poultry from Europe to Southeast Asia. Vicentin, founded in 1929, was once Argentina's No. 1 exporter of soy byproducts.
Vicentin went broke after going on a credit-fueled expansion last year. It has a 33% stake in the giant Renova soy crushing plant in Santa Fe province.
The grains sector, Argentina's main source of export dollars, is especially important as the government goes about restructuring $65 billion in what it calls unsustainable sovereign debt.
Santa Fe's governor, Omar Perotti, a Fernandez ally, told local radio he was sure a compromise could be found: "The president is willing to listen to alternatives." (Reporting by Hugh Bronstein; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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Argentina soy industry slams bid by government to take over Vicentin - Successful Farming
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