Argentina's Milei slashes duties on key agricultural exports
BUENOS AIRES : Argentine President Javier Milei on Saturday announced 'permanent' reductions in duties on key agricultural exports.
The libertarian leader made the announcement in a speech to hundreds of farmers in Buenos Aires after promising the cuts during his presidential campaign with the ultimate goal of scrapping them completely.
According to official figures, the agricultural sector represents around 10% of Argentina's GDP, with agricultural products representing 60% of the country's exports in 2024.
Export taxes on poultry and beef will be reduced from 6.75% to 5%, corn from 12% to 9.5%, and soybeans from 33% to 26%.
Milei also announced cuts on major exports like sorghum, sunflower seeds and byproducts, and soybean byproducts.
'These reductions are permanent, and there will be no going back as long as I am in power,' Milei said at the 'Expo Rural', a major agricultural fair held every year in Buenos Aires.
Argentina is one of the world's leading producers of soybeans and their derivatives, which accounted for nearly 25% of the country's total exports in 2024, according to the national statistics institute Indec.
In January, the Argentine government adopted temporary export tariff reductions which expired in June. Tariff cuts on wheat and barley were extended and will now be permanent.
The long-promised cuts come amid Argentina's easing inflation, which had reached record levels in 2023.
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