By Eliane Portillo

The economic team of the Paraguayan government will analyze a series of situations of internal and external nature affecting the national financial system, in order to evaluate and adopt decisions next week.

Dionisio Borda, Minister of Finances, announced the meeting Wednesday to consider topics such as the rising cost of petroleum, the devaluation of the local currency compared to the dollar, the impacts of the drought, the foot and mouth disease and forest fires. On the price of crude oil in the international market, Borda said that there was a very harsh increase, and the increase of the value of the dollar was added to it.

Borda expressed that both things had a negative impact on the sale of oil in the country.

On Wednesday, the president of the state company Petroleos de Paraguay, Sergio Escobar, said there could be a readjustment in the price of diesel oil during the coming days, if the increasing tendency of the dollar before the local currency continues.

The executive said in advance that the rise of the tariffs could be between 250 and 300 guaranties (0.05 and 0.06 cents of a US dollar).

When talking about the foot and mouth disease, which struck in the department of San Pedro, Escobar commented that the government is adopting the appropriate measures and expressed his hope that the lost sanitary status is restored for the export of cattle.

Borda also talked about the problem of the drought intensely affecting all the national territory, with an impact on grain production and other areas.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock informed Wednesday that the drought maintains eight of the 17 departments of the country in critical situation, with a decrease in production of between 30 and 50 percent.

In this month rains were not registered in any of the weather stations of Paraguay, although rains and storms have been predicted for the next hours.

The Minister of Finances said that the lack of rains mainly affects the early production of soybean, the main export-oriented crop in the country.

Paraguay planned a growth of the Gross Domestic Product of 4 percent but this will be affected by the current problems, Borda announced.