Argentina to resume soybean exports after official tax cut – CIARA-CEC

Argentina’s grain industry is set to resume exporting soybeans and their by-products after the government formalizes a tax cut announced over the weekend, the Grain Processing Association said on Monday

CIARA-CEC President Gustavo Ydígoras told Reuters that exports of the world’s largest supplier of soybean oil and meal had stopped on July 1, when a temporary tax cut ended.

However, President Javier Miley on Saturday announced a permanent reduction in the tax on soybean and by-product exports to 26% and 24.5%, respectively, from the current levels of 33% and 31%.

The measure will take effect once it is published in the country’s official gazette.

Ydígoras said declarations of sales abroad (DJVE) had been “virtually paralyzed” since July 1, but they should resume once the decree is published.

Government officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on when that would happen.

As of mid-July, Argentine farmers had sold 52% of the 2024/25 soybean crop of 50.9 million tonnes, including 1.05 million tonnes in the first two weeks of the month, according to the government.

That was less than half the 3.27 million tonnes sold in the last two weeks of June, when farmers reallocated large volumes before the end of an initial temporary tax cut.

Idígoras said he expected sales to increase, but not to the levels seen at the end of last month.

INCENTIVES FOR FARMERS

Independent analyst Lorena D’Angelo said companies had built up a healthy stockpile of grain after the peak of trading in late June. “There will be no rush of selling from producers, no rush of demand from exporters,” she said.

Saturday’s tax cut announcement also boosted Argentina’s 2025/26 soybean futures, with the benchmark May 2026 contract trading at $291 a tonne, up $10 from two weeks ago.

Exporters typically factor in the tax rates into the prices they pay local farmers who will begin planting next season’s crop in October.

“This will stimulate planting decisions for the next soybean campaign,” Ydígoras said. “This product needs to be accepted in Argentina to break out of its stagnation phase. We expect this to happen.”

Argentine farmers will have harvested more than 50 million tonnes of soybeans in 2024/25 for the first time in six years, well below the record 61.4 million tonnes harvested 10 years ago.

Tags: export, soybean, Argentina