SOUTH AMERICA
Last year, Argentina continued to dominate world exports of soyabean products, according to analysts
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Argentina – strong soya sector The oilseed sector in Argentina has risen above a number of recent challenges to emerge with strong exports of soyabean products Gill Langham
20 OFI – MARCH/APRIL 2022
Argentina soyabeans draft Gill.indd 2
Argentina has faced a number of recent challenges including a recession exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, surging inflation and a month-long industrial labour dispute. Other issues include dry weather affecting crop outcomes and low water levels on the Paraná River, the South American country’s main transportation route for grain cargo ships. However, with pent-up demand and high export prices, the sector has emerged in a buoyant position, according to a report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) Oilseeds and Products Annual published on 15 April 2021 said that agricultural exports were helping to replenish the country’s foreign currency reserves and support the value of the Argentine peso. A report published in January by the country’s CIARA-CEC grains exporters and oilseed crushing chamber found that Argentina exported US$32.8bn in grains and their derivatives last year, which represented a record figure this century. In December alone, the sector exported US$2.68bn in grains and derivatives. “Last year was positive for Argentine exports of the oilseed cereal complex in terms of international values and volumes reaching a historical record,” CIARA-CEC
president and chairman Gustavo Idigoras says. “However, it was not positive in terms of margins given that the strong decline in Paraná River flows – plus the uncertainties in the currency exchange regime in Argentina together with high inflation – significantly reduced the profits of exporting companies.”
Strong products
Last year, Argentina continued to dominate world exports of soyabean products, according to analysts. Soyabean and product exports are particularly important to the country, as the government levies a 33% export tax on whole beans and a 31% tax on soyabean meal and oil, according to the GAIN report. These taxes provided more than US$4bn in revenue to the government in 2020. As well as being the world’s leading exporter of soya meal for animal feed, Argentina is also an important supplier of soyabeans, soyabean oil, sunflower seeds and other crops. “While Argentina is a relatively modest exporter of soyabeans, it has long been established as the world’s leading exporter of soyabean products to a range of markets across different regions,” Darren Cooper, a senior economist at the International Grains Council (IGC), says.
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23/03/2022 10:04:50
