Mexico exempts 500,000 mt of soybeans from import taxes

Mexico has enforced an import tax exemption for 500,000 mt of soybeans from all origins until the end of the 2021 calendar year to counterbalance “tight US supplies”, the country’s secretariat of economy said on October 1.

The measure, designed on a first-come first-served basis, aims to stabilise soyoil prices with an eye on rising domestic consumer prices.

“It is necessary to increase the sources of soybean supply to guarantee competitive prices and stabilise soyoil prices, to the benefit of consumers,” the secretariat said.

The USDA local office in Mexico has released a report dated October 16 on the matter on Wednesday stating that the tax exemption came “to open [the Mexican] market in response to tight US supplies and high prices.”

“Although U.S. soybean prices increased considerably during this period, U.S. soybeans remained the only viable supply option given their zero duty under USMCA (versus duties of 15 percent for Brazil and Argentina, for example),” the USDA added.

In 2020 Mexico imported 5.7 million mt of soybeans, 85% sourced from the US and the remainder from Brazil.