He National Government formalized his decision to extend until March 31, 2026 the transient reduction of retentions for wheat and barleywhile soybeans, corn and other products will be taxed again from July 1 the original 33%, 12% and 7% aliquots respectively. The measure was reflected in Decree 439/2025, which was published this Thursday in the Official Gazette and carries the signature of President Javier Milei, the chief of Cabinet Guillermo Francos and the Minister of Economy Luis Caputo.
Decree extends 9.5% aliquots They have the Wheat and barleytwo crops whose planting is in full development. Instead, the soy will increase its rate from 26 to 33%he corn and sorghum will go from 9.5 to 12%while the sunflower will return to 7% after having a temporary aliquot of 5.5%. The wheat flourfor its part, it will remain with the 5.5%.
Among the technical aspects, the new regulations established that Exporters must liquidate at least 90% of currencies within a maximum period of 30 business days from the sworn declaration of sale abroad (DJVE). This period was extended with respect to the 15 days before, a point claimed by exporters that warned that the previous scheme complicated the financial operation of the companies. Those who do not meet this requirement must pay the highest aliquot corresponding to each product.
The continuity of the reduction for wheat and barley was anticipated in May by the minister Caputobut its official publication was delayed so far. According to calculations from official sources, the fiscal cost of this extension will represent around 100 million dollars. In contrast, The completion of the reduction on soybeans and corn will mean an additional transfer close to 1,000 million dollars In terms of collection, mainly concentrated in the provinces of the Agricultural Center (Córdoba, Santa Fe and Entre Ríos).
Although the measure on Wheat and barley It was well received by some links from the chain, did not generate a significant leap on the planted area. The Rosario Stock Exchange estimated that the total wheat area will be around 7.1 million hectares, just 200,000 more than the previous cycle, and even had to cut 100,000 hectares for accumulated water excesses. For its part, the Buenos Aires Cereal Stock Exchange reported that at the time the extension was published, 72.7% of the projected wheat area and 50.8% of the barley had been sown, which would total about 1.3 million hectares.
Marketing record in June
He Temporary relief of export rights provided by Decree 38/2025 had reduced 8% rates for wheat, barley and corn and 31% in soybeans, with the aim of stimulating currency income and accelerating the settlement of retained stocks. This strategy resulted in A record level of sales abroad. According to preliminary data, June will close with about 13 million tons of grains and commercialized by -products, the highest monthly registration since the beginning of the current management. The associated currency flow would be around 3.8 billion dollars, a figure that allowed to attenuate exchange tensions and strengthen collection.
Various analysts warned that This strong commercialization rhythm will decelerate in the coming months as the withholdings return to its highest level. Some entities and consultants mention that the combination of tax pressure, internal costs and financial restrictions could affect the rhythm of sales of soybeans and corn in the second semester.
Withholdings: A claim that does not cease
The president of the Argentine Rural Society (Mrs), Nicolás Pinowas categorical to pronounce on the real impact of the measure. In dialogue with Scope warned that “beyond administrative formalisms, extensions are not the solution. And we are not going to tire of repeating it, the withholdings must be definitively eliminated. That is the way. ”
Pino also stressed that the temporary reduction of retentions applied since March had a positive effect on the liquidity of the producers and highlighted “the effort that the government is making in these months, which has left in the pocket of the producers more than 550 million dollars, which are surely invested in the field generating federal wealth”.
The leader insisted that, Despite partial relief, many soy and corn producers face tight margins that complicate planting decision making for the 2025/26 campaign. For this reason, he stressed that “the field needs clear rules and long -term policies. If there is no savings, there is no investment, and if there is no investment, there is no more production.”
From the Chamber of the Oil Industry of the Argentine Republic (Ciara) and the Cereal Export Center (CEC) They stressed that the measure “is the right way to eliminate distortions and encourage production”, although they underlined the need to move forward with a broader scheme that includes the entire export agroindustrial complex. “We will continue working with the producers entities to achieve the elimination of all the DEX,” they said in a statement.
Another understanding that referred to the conflict over withholdings is Coninagro, which groups cooperatives throughout the country, also expressed concern and stressed that “the completion of the reduction in the DEX generates sum sum tummy and inequality throughout the field, especially because the measure impacts the medium of productive processes and many of them are unfinished to June 30”. In an official document, the entity recalled that they have been proposing for years a comprehensive reform of the tax system: “We maintain and propose a change in the current tax model. The field needs the certainty of being able to have clear and lasting rules to achieve the predictability that we require as producers.”
In the last hours, Argentine Rural Confederations (CRA) also rejected the restoration of full withholdings and demanded an urgent review from the government. “We manifest our concern about continuity and the negative impact that export rights will have to restore an extremely adverse productive context,” said the entity, which also valued the advances of the government in macroeconomy, but requested “a path of sustainable development for Argentine agriculture.”
Meanwhile, various voices of the sector agreed that the return of the highest aliquots threat with deepening the profitability gaps between crops and regions, and discouraging investment in technology and innovation.
Focusing the claim on the most important crops of the agricultural campaign is not accidental: the data shows that soybeans and corn represent more than 80% of the foreign exchange of the Argentine agro -export complex. For entities, the weight of export rights – which can exceed one third of the FOB value of each operation – constitutes the main condition of investment and productive expansion. In a context of high costs in dollars, international commodities prices that did not recover and high tax pressure, margins are increasingly narrow.
Therefore, beyond the nuances in the strategies of dialogue with the Government, there is a unified message of all the agriculture that crosses industrial cameras, rural and cooperative confederations: the field will not claudicate in its claim so that the withholdings are eliminated definitively, because it is convinced that they are the main obstacle that prevents the sector from growing and develops fully in productive terms. For many producers, only the certainty of a stable and predictable fiscal horizon will allow to plan, invest and sustain the enormous contribution of agribusiness to the economy.
Source: Ambito
