The Latin American nation’s government had suspended export duties on soybeans and their value-added products starting September 22 to generate foreign exchange. Under this temporary measure, exporters were allowed duty-free exports of soybeans, soybean oil, soybean meal, corn, and wheat until October 31, 2025, or until confirmed export contracts worth $7 billion were fulfilled. However, due to overwhelming demand from foreign buyers, exporters achieved the $7 billion target within just two days of the announcement.

According to a leading trade analyst, during the initial four days, Indian importers contracted soybean oil purchases at around $1,100 per ton — about $30–40 per ton lower than the prevailing price earlier. It is noteworthy that the Argentine government had made changes to the export duty structure on these products in July and had also made a small cut in January.

Argentina has been facing a severe shortage of foreign exchange, especially U.S. dollars, which has not only destabilized its economy but also pushed its currency, the peso, sharply lower against the dollar. To address this, the government decided to raise $7 billion by temporarily suspending export duties on key agricultural products — a goal that was reached within two days.

India is the world’s largest importer of edible oils, with average monthly imports of about 300,000 tons of soybean oil. Between November 2024 and August 2025, India imported around 2.4 million tons of crude soybean oil. Imports are expected to remain largely stable in September, but a sharp rise is likely in October.