Milei's government extended the reduction of export duties for wheat and barley.

The Government of Javier Milei, through the Ministry of Economy, confirmed the extension of the temporary reduction in export duties for wheat and barley exports until March 31.

This decision extends a measure that had been initially implemented at the end of January and was valid until June 30. This way, it will also cover the next fine harvest campaign, whose sowing process has already begun.

According to the official statement, these exports and their derivative products generate approximately USD 4 billion per year, which represents about 5% of the country's total external sales.

"The national government decided to extend the temporary reduction of duties for wheat and barley until March 31, 2026," announced the Minister of Economy, Luis "Toto" Caputo, through his account on the social network X. The report clarified that this provision doesn't include soybeans, corn, sunflower, sorghum, or their by-products, which will return to paying the tariffs in effect in January.

The reduction of duties

Until June 30, the export duty percentages for the main crops were defined as follows: soybeans in grain dropped from 33 to 26%, while their derivatives went from 31 to 24.5%. As for wheat, barley, corn, and sorghum, the rate was reduced from 12 to 9.5%. For sunflower, the tax was cut from 7 to 5.5%. Starting in July, the previous scheme will be reapplied for wheat and barley.

The continuation of these duties had already been announced by President Javier Milei during the announcement of the start of the third stage of the economic program, which included the end of the currency exchange cap and the establishment of a dollar flotation system within bands.

"We reduced 13 taxes, the most significant was the inflationary tax which was 15 points of the GDP. We also removed the PAIS tax," he stated in a radio interview. When asked about the duties, he affirmed that for traditional exports, the duties "return in July".

The modification in duties was implemented at the end of January through decree 38/2025. In that regulation, the Executive Power stipulated that those wishing to access the benefit must enter 95% of the foreign currency obtained from the export of those products. Additionally, the deadline for the liquidation of foreign currency was reduced to 15 days, instead of the 30 days that previously applied.

Regarding regional economies, the residual export duty rates for certain products were permanently eliminated. Among them are sugar, cotton, bovine leather, tobacco, the forestry industry, and rice. These sectors caused more than 1.1 billion dollars in external sales during 2024.