SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL — In an effort to curtail inflation, the Brazilian Agriculture Ministry has postponed import duties on soy, corn, soybean meal and soybean oil until the end of 2021, Reuters reported.

Previously, the Chamber of Foreign Commerce (Camex) had suspended the import tax of corn until March 31, 2021, and soybean until Jan. 15, 2021. The hope for the previous exemption was to give rising global commodities prices to stabilize and the 2020-21 grain crop to rebalance supply in demand.

“However, international prices had an upward trend, putting even more pressure on domestic prices,” the ministry told Reuters. “Domestic prices continued to rise due to the strong external demand and the continued devaluation of the real against the dollar.”

Looking ahead, the industry is focused on Brazil’s second corn crop, which has not started yet.