\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t Since the beginning of the commodities boom in the early 2000s, Argentina has relied heavily on soybean exports as a source of U.S. dollars \u2014 the currency that has been in exceptionally high demand in the country\u2019s economy for the past several decades.<\/p>\n
As a result, successive governments have employed a wide range of strategies to encourage farmers to sell \u2014 and export \u2014 soybeans, while also seeking additional revenue from what has often been described as the country\u2019s golden goose, primarily through export taxes.<\/p>\n
The latest examples include the export incentive programs introduced during former President Alberto Fern\u00e1ndez\u2019s administration \u2014 popularly known as the soy dollar exchange-rate scheme \u2014 and the temporary export tax cuts implemented by President Javier Milei\u2019s government last year.<\/p>\n
However, during the first half of 2026 \u2014 the period when most of the harvest is typically marketed \u2014 soybean sales fell short of historical levels.<\/p>\n
As of July 15, only 14.6 million metric tons had been sold at a fixed price, 27% below the median recorded between 2010 and 2025, according to estimates by the Fundaci\u00f3n Mediterr\u00e1nea think tank.<\/p>\n
Only 29% of the estimated 49.5 million-ton soybean harvest had been marketed, compared with a historical average of 41%.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe slowdown in soybean marketing became more pronounced as the year progressed,\u201d Fundaci\u00f3n Mediterr\u00e1nea analysts wrote in their report.<\/p>\n
At the beginning of 2026, cumulative sales were well above historical patterns: in January, they stood 81% above the historical median. By July, however, the volume sold had fallen to 27% below the long-term average.<\/p>\n
Why did sales slow? \u201cI don\u2019t think comparing this year with previous ones is valid anymore,\u201d agricultural analyst Javier Preciado told the Herald, arguing that current sales volumes are \u201ccompletely normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no longer any pressure for the agricultural sector to liquidate exports because dollars are now coming in from energy and mining,\u201d he said, referring to the strong export growth in both sectors this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout the soy dollar program and without the broader economic pressure for agriculture to be the country\u2019s sole source of foreign currency, what we\u2019re going to see is a market driven by producers\u2019 own need to sell and by buyers\u2019 purchasing demand,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Similarly, Dante Romano, head of research at Max Capital and a professor at Austral University, told the Herald that the factors driving farmers to sell this year \u201care the same as always.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor that reason, producers had no additional incentive to sell more,\u201d unlike last year, when temporary export tax cuts during the first half of 2025 encouraged sales.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, none of those incentives exist. On top of that, there\u2019s already a schedule in place for further export tax reductions in 2027,\u201d Romano said.<\/p>\n
He also noted that mixed crop and livestock producers have benefited from stronger profitability in sunflower, corn, wheat, and livestock.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat improved their cash flow and allowed them to avoid selling as much soybean production,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
The Argentine Oil Industry Chamber (CIARA) echoed that view when contacted by the Herald. The industry group emphasized that the temporary export tax cuts in the first half of 2025 \u201caccelerated producers\u2019 sales.\u201d<\/p>\n
It also pointed to weather-related factors that delayed this year\u2019s harvest, meaning soybean marketing \u201cstarted later than usual.\u201d<\/p>\n
More dollars expected in the second half Potential export revenues are projected to reach between US$14.25 billion and US$18.38 billion during the second half of the year, according to Fundaci\u00f3n Mediterr\u00e1nea.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn acceleration in sales could increase agriculture\u2019s contribution to the broader economy,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n
It added that the stronger flow of export revenues \u201ccould boost transportation, grain storage, industry and services,\u201d while also increasing liquidity across agricultural regions and improving overall economic performance compared with the second half of 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Since the beginning of the commodities boom in the early 2000s, Argentina has relied heavily on soybean exports as a source of U.S. dollars \u2014 the currency that has been in exceptionally high demand in the country\u2019s economy for the past several decades. As a result, successive governments have employed a wide range of strategies […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":261,"featured_media":98396,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5237,414,2379,2380],"tags":[5234,595,17191,25533],"class_list":["post-98395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-agro","category-business","category-soy","category-soybean","tag-agro","tag-business","tag-soy","tag-soybean"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/261"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98395\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}