China reduced duties on more than 140 types of Argentine agricultural products

According to the Ministry of Economy of Argentina, China has reduced or extended the temporary reduction of duties on 143 types of agricultural products imported from Argentina, DatamarNews reports.

The Ministry of Finance of China believes that this decision will allow “to reduce prices, stimulate consumption and adjust or change temporary tariffs based on the dynamics of supply and demand in the local market”.

Thus, the temporary reduction of the duty on imports of oilseeds (flax and sunflower seeds) was extended from 15% to 9%. In addition, duties on imports of dairy products, fruits, vegetables, spices, and fish were reduced.

Experts of Rosario Grain Exchange report that the decrease in harvest in 2022/23 MY caused by the prolonged drought led to the significant reduction of agricultural exports in 2023. Thus, the exports of soybeans decreased by 39% to 23.6 mln tonnes, corn – by 33% to 24.3 mln tonnes, wheat – by 76% to 3.6 mln tonnes.

As a reminder, according to the forecasts of Rosario Grain Exchange, in 2023/24 MY Argentina will produce 14.5 mln tonnes of wheat, 50 mln tonnes of soybeans and 56 mln tonnes of corn.

China is stepping up its imports of agricultural products, and last year it allowed corn deliveries from Brazil, and increased the list of agricultural products for import from Russia and Kazakhstan.

Tags: China, grain, sunseed, Argentina