BUENOS AIRES — Argentine agro-industrial export chamber CIARA-CEC said on Dec. 30 its members exported US$23.719 billion of grains in 2019, up 17 percent over the previous year despite months of economic crisis in the South American nation.
The chamber, whose members include global giants such as Cargill and Bunge, accounts for about 45 percent of Argentina´s grain exports annually.
“This year’s sales are among the highest of the past 17 years, and the highest taking into account the low international prices currently,” CIARA-CEC said in a statement.
Argentina, a top global supplier of soybeans, corn and soymeal livestock feed, was rocked by recession, rising inflation and a plummeting peso in 2019. The chamber attributed the resiliency in exports to a large and successful harvest, and to an increase in sales by producers in November and December.
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December exports hit $2.223 billion, the chamber said, the highest since 2002.
CIARA-CEC warned in a statement that stability would be necessary to keep up the pace.
“To achieve normal sales we will need a stable exchange rate and rules for trade,” CIARA-CEC said.
The new government of Peronist Alberto Fernandez, inaugurated in early December, hiked taxes on soybean exports to 33 percent from about 25 percent, while international shipments of corn and wheat will be taxed at 15 percent, up from about seven percent previously.
Argentine Agriculture Minister Luis Basterra has nonetheless started talking with farmers about the possibility of applying lower taxes to growers located farther from ports. Grain exports are a key driver of the Argentine economy.
