EBA and three other agricultural associations demand the abolition of export duties on soybeans and rapeseed

The European Business Association, the Association of Farmers and Private Landowners of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Bean and Soybean Association, and the Seed Association of Ukraine appealed to the government and the Verkhovna Rada to cancel the export duty on soybeans and rapeseed, introduced by Law No. 4536-IX, and also to develop a mechanism for refunding the duty already paid (after the law enters into force), writes Latifundist.com.

On September 2, the President of Ukraine signed Law No. 4536-IX, which introduced a 10% duty on the export of soybeans and rapeseed. It was not supposed to apply to agricultural producers exporting their own grown products, but in practice, according to businesses, the lack of a mechanism to confirm "own cultivation" effectively stopped exports.

According to members of the EBA Grains and Oilseeds Committee, ships are idle in ports, shipments are blocked, and traders and farmers are suffering daily losses. In addition, the accumulation of ships creates security risks, as port infrastructure can become a target for attacks by the Russian Federation.

A joint appeal by agricultural associations to Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko emphasizes that the introduced duty contradicts the Association Agreement with the EU, which directly prohibits the establishment of new export duties. This may provoke mirror restrictions from the EU on Ukrainian agricultural products.

The associations also warn:

• farmers and exporters lose foreign exchange earnings, which negatively affects the budget;
• the risks of reducing the area sown with soybeans and rapeseed are increasing - already in 2025 they decreased from 2.6 million hectares to 2.2 million hectares;
• even sending small batches of seeds for testing abroad is complicated by the need to pay customs duties;
• According to KSE estimates, annual losses from inefficient use of resources could amount to $400–700 million.

"For farmers, the duty only means a lower purchase price and loss of profit," the appeal states.

The business community calls on the government and parliament to review the "soybean-rapeseed amendments", abolish the export duty, and prevent devastating consequences for the Ukrainian agricultural sector.