The new right-of-centre president in Argentina has announced the abolition of export tariffs on agricultural produce.

Bloomberg has reported that at a gathering of farmers in Pergamino, 245km west of Buenos Aires, President Mauricio Macri announced the elimination of export taxes on agricultural goods including beef, wheat and corn, while cutting a tariff on soybeans by 5%.

Export tariff on soybeans will now be 30%. The taxes on beef, wheat and corn were previously 15%, 23% and 20%, respectively.

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What is also of interest is that he has pledged to allow the Argentinian peso float and find its proper value against international currencies. Currently it is pegged at just under 10 per US dollar, whereas the black market value puts it at around 14.50 to the US Dollar.

These developments, while perfectly logical from an Argentinian viewpoint to get their agricultural economy moving, present a threat to Irish farmers. Bord Bia has targeted Germany as a growth market and lucrative business has been done there by Irish companies with steak houses that had previously sold Argentinian steaks. The effective export ban since 2008 created an opportunity for Ireland, but the Argentinians look like they will be coming back for their old business.

A weakened exchange rate will increase their competitiveness and the possibility of a Mercosur-EU trade agreement would be a further threat to Irish business if it isn’t successfully resisted for beef.