BUENOS AIRIES, ARGENTINA — Argentina’s government will place a new tax on crop exports in an attempt to resolve the country’s financial crisis, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 3.
Argentina’s economy has been hampered in recent months by rising inflation and interest rates and a plunging currency.
In a televised speech, President Mauricio Marcri said all shipments of primary exports will be levied at four pesos per dollar. The tax increases are in stark contrast to the anti-tariff measures on agricultural products that he has implemented since taking office in 2015.
“We know it’s a really bad tax that goes against what we want to spur, which is more exports,” he said. “But I ask you to understand that it’s an emergency and we need your support.”
Argentina is the world’s third-ranked soybean and corn exporter and is seventh in wheat exports, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is the world’s top soybean meal and oil exporter.
It already has been a difficult year for Argentina farmers as drought has cut the country’s soybean crop forecast to 36 million tonnes, a 37% drop from estimated output at the beginning of the year, according to a recent Global Agricultural Information Network report from the USDA.
