The Argentine government has announced plans to lower agricultural export duties on soyabeans, sunflowerseed and other crops, the Buenos Aires Herald reported on 23 January.
In a joint press conference with Presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni on 23 January, Economy Minister Luis Caputo was quoted as saying the measure would be temporary, from 27 January until the end of June.
“We can’t make the change permanent because we don’t have the resources,” Caputo said.
The plan would reduce export duty rates on soyabeans from 33% to 26%, soyabean derivatives from 31% to 24.5%, wheat from 12% to 9.5%, barley from 12% to 9.5%, sorghum from 12% to 9.5%, corn from 12% to 9.5% and sunflowerseed from 7% to 5.5%, the Buenos Aires Herald wrote.
Although President Javier Milei’s administration was aiming to lower taxes, it would need a US$8bn surplus to remove export duties permanently, Caputo said.
The decision to lower taxes came against a backdrop of ongoing drought in the country and a drop in commodity prices, he added.
“As a result of the inherited disaster and our very bad credit history, the reality is that Argentina needs a fiscal surplus to lower taxes,” Caputo said.
Historically, the elimination of export duties has traditionally been one of the main demands of the rural sector, according to the report.
Welcoming the measure, Rosario Stock Exchange President Miguel Simioni was quoted as saying in a statement that the decision went “in the right direction”.
“The reduction of export duties will allow producers to improve their competitiveness, which is essential to continue generating added value, employment and foreign currency for the Argentine economy,” he said.
To access the lowered duties, exporters have to sell their dollars to the Central Bank 15 days after completing an “affidavit of sale abroad”, according to the report.
