President Javier Milei announced a new reduction in export duties on wheat and barley starting next month, and on soy from January onwards, during a speech to rural business leaders in Buenos Aires on Thursday.
The measure is another gesture from the La Libertad Avanza leader to the nation’s powerful agricultural sector, which accounted for more than 60 percent of the country’s exports in 2025, according to official data from the INDEC national statistics bureau.
“We are going to lower export duties on wheat and barley from 7.5 to 5.5 percent starting in June 2026,” Milei said.
“But that’s not all. It would be unfair if we forgot about soy. Starting in January 2027, depending on how tax revenues perform, we are going to lower [export duties] by between a quarter of a point and half a point per month continuously through to 2028,” he declared.
Milei indicated that the scheme would depend on the continuity of his administration – a reference to his upcoming re-election bid in 2027.
The President also announced cuts to export duties affecting the automotive, petrochemical and machinery industries.
Gustavo Idígoras, president of Argentina’s Cámara de Aceiteros industry group, welcomed the government’s decision to lower export duties on grains, but warned that changes affecting soy would need careful management to avoid the disruption of trade flows.
“We welcome the reduction in export duties because it is always positive. It is the right path,” Idígoras told local media.
He said the cut to wheat and barley export taxes was “a major sign to producers to encourage planting amid a complex cost and price environment.”
On soy, however, he cautioned that the plan remained “conditional on tax revenues and we will have to see how the situation evolves.”
Milei’s new benefits were announced one day after INDEC reported that Argentine exports reached a “historic record” of US$8.914 billion in April.
Official data shows that Argentina’s economic activity grew 5.5 percent year-on-year in March.
Since taking office in December 2023, Milei has pursued a policy of deep spending cuts that allowed his government to post fiscal surpluses during its first two years in office.
“We are going to continue shrinking public spending so we can return to decent Argentines the money that rightfully belongs to them. Let the state shrink and the market grow,” he said on Thursday during his speech at the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange.
Milei has implemented sweeping cuts in areas such as healthcare, education and science as he has sought to balance Argentina’s budget.
– TIMES/AFP/NA
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