Economy Ministry promises to solve problem of soybean, rapeseed exports in about week

The mechanism that confirms exporters as commodity producers and allows them to avoid paying the recently introduced 10% export duty on soybean and rapeseed exports should be available by the end of this week, said Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine Denys Bashlyk.

"It will be as convenient as possible, the software is already 90% ready. The Cabinet will make a decision next week," he said at the Forbes Agro conference in Kyiv on Friday.

Bashlyk noted that currently there are situations when producers export and are forced to pay duties, because there is no such confirmation mechanism.

According to him, the confirmation mechanism is planned to be implemented through the state agricultural registry so that it does not take too much time or require a million certificates or confirmation of each batch.

Regarding duties already paid by commodity producers, the government is preparing amendments to the 2025 state budget law, which will allow for the return of those duties, the deputy minister said.

Overall, he emphasized that the Ministry of Economy opposes the abolition of the 10% duty introduced on the export of soybeans and rapeseed.

"We understand the risks that farmers may incur, but it should be noted that there is another side to this story - the creation of a separate fund, into which the paid duties will go. And therefore, is the abolition of the so-called soybean amendments on the agenda today? - It is not," Bashlyk noted.

At the Forbes Agro conference, farmers criticized the introduction of this duty. In their opinion, processors at the beginning of the war received high profitability at the expense of agricultural producers due to problems with logistics, and now processing does not need such benefits and must pay the market price for raw materials, competing with importers. According to the speakers, the result of these duties will be a reduction in rapeseed and soybean crops and a deterioration in crop rotation.