Argentina reinstates higher export taxes on soyabeans, corn and sunflowerseed

Export duties on some agricultural commodities had been cut in January to help farmers recover from low crop prices and bad weather but the Economy Ministry’s decree had dashed the hopes of producers wishing for a last-minute change of heart, Buenos Aires Herald wrote.

Duties would increase from 26% to 33% for soyabeans; 9.5% to 12% for corn and sorghum; and from 5.5% to 7% for sunflowerseed. Export duties on wheat and barley would remain at 9.5% until 31 March 2026.

According to a 28 June Rio Times report, the temporary tax cut in January had helped boost sales and production but the government was reinstating the duties to build up its reserves of foreign currency and meet its obligations with the International Monetary Fund.

Argentina is one of the world’s largest exporters of soyabeans, soyabean oil and corn.

In 2024, exports taxes earned the government US$5.3bn, with soyabeans accounting for most of that amount, the Rio Times wrote.

The earlier tax cuts had made Argentine crops cheaper and more competitive but the new increases could slow exports and lead to a drop in farmer income of about US$30/tonne less for soyabeans, the report said.

Farm cooperatives group Coninagro said that raising duties again “generates great concern and inequality in the whole countryside” and called for “clear and lasting rules to achieve the predictability that we require as producers”, the Buenos Aires Herald reported.

Farming group Confederaciones Rurales Argentinas also called for “an urgent review” of the matter.

Tags: corn, export, prices, taxes, crop, Argentina, duties, sunflowerseed, soyabeans