Zelensky signs law introducing export duties on soybeans, rapeseed

On September 2, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law introducing a 10% export duty on soybeans and rapeseed, according to the parliament’s website, which published details of bill No. 13157.

The law was passed by the Verkhovna Rada on July 16 and the duties will take effect the day after its official publication.

Revenue from the duty will be directed to the State Fund for the Support of Agricultural Producers. The Cabinet of Ministers is required to submit a draft law establishing this fund within three months.

Agricultural producers and cooperatives that export products they grow themselves will be exempt from paying the duty.

Beginning in 2030, the export duty will be gradually reduced by one percentage point annually until it reaches 5%.

• This is not the first time Ukraine has restricted soybean exports. In 2017, the Verkhovna Rada passed the so-called "soybean amendments," which denied VAT refunds on soybean exports for companies that were not producers, i.e., traders.
• The stated goal was to encourage domestic processing of soybeans and rapeseed in order to boost exports of higher value-added products such as oil and meal, rather than raw materials. However, due to their discriminatory nature and negative impact, those amendments were later repealed.