“A positive sign”: the field celebrated the new reduction in withholdings announced by Javier Milei

The announcement was made at the event for the 172nd anniversary of the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange, where the president confirmed that From June 2026, withholdings on wheat and barley will drop from 7.5% to 5.5%. Furthermore, he announced that, If the fiscal situation allows it, a gradual reduction of this tax on soybean exports will begin from January 2027with monthly decreases of between 0.25% and 0.5% until 2028.

The president of the Grain Exchange, Ricardo Marracelebrated the decision and assured that “everything that is lower withholdings is on the right path.” In that sense, he maintained thatmeasure could stimulate greater wheat productionespecially in a context where the entity had projected a 20% drop in surface area compared to the previous record campaign.

“With 20% less, we still estimated the third largest harvest in history, because we are coming from a historic year. But this decision, of course, can stimulate greater wheat production,” he noted.

From the Argentine Rural Confederations, its president Carlos Castagnani considered that the announcement represents “the beginning of what the sector has been preaching for years” and stressed that the withholdings are “an unfair tax” that damaged both agriculture and the Argentine economy.

“Beyond the specific number, the message is important. The Government knows the damage that the retentions did and this can boost the planted area,” he stated.

There was also support from the export industry. The head of CIARA-CEC, Gustavo Idígorasdescribed the measure as “very positive” and highlighted that the decrease in wheat and barley improves the relationship between planting costs and prices, which could encourage an expansion of the area.

However, he raised concerns about the gradual scheme planned for soybeans. As he explained, a monthly reduction of between 0.25% and 0.5% could generate “noise” in the normal flow of marketing and sales decisions.

“It would be better to make a single reduction, with the maximum possible effort, and then evaluate if there is room to continue reducing,” said Idígoras. In addition, he clarified that the continuity of the scheme will depend on the evolution of tax collection and income from export duties.

Along the same lines, the economist David Miazzo calculated that the reduction in wheat will imply a $6.25 per ton improvement in power exporter paymenttaking an FOB price of 250 dollars per ton.

As detailed, added to the international price improvement compared to last year, the benefit would practically offset the increase in costs in key inputs such as urea and diesel. In addition, he estimated that the fiscal impact for the remainder of this campaign would be around $20 million.

On the other hand, he considered that the scheme planned for soybeans would have little immediate impact on the marketing of the current campaign, although it could influence future production decisions.

“For this campaign it will not generate much impact on the marketing rate, because few producers are going to wait several months to obtain just half a point more. But for the next campaign it can influence,” he analyzed.

For its part, the Argentine Rural Society also supported the announcement, defining the measure as “a positive sign” and assured that the reduction of withholdings “allows us to recover competitiveness, encourage investment and promote the development of the productive interior.”

In any case, the entity insisted that The ultimate goal should be “zero withholdings.”“, considering that export duties continue to be “a distorting tax that limits the potential of the Argentine countryside.”