Ukraine holds off on rapeseed and soybean export duty decision as market stays split

Ukraine's Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food has not formed a view on whether export duties on rapeseed and soybean seeds should be abolished, and is waiting for a consolidated position from the market that does not yet exist. Minister Taras Vysotskyi said this at a briefing in Kyiv, in remarks reported by Interfax-Ukraine and cited by APK-Inform.

No consolidated position, even among producers

According to Vysotskyi, the absence of an agreed stance extends even to the segment of agricultural producers — the group that would be the most direct beneficiary of removing the duty. In his view, approaching the Verkhovna Rada without a single industry position has no prospect of success.

«We continue the dialogue, we are waiting: until there is an agreed position, it is very difficult to go to parliament with such a complex issue», the minister said. The statement leaves the existing regime in force with no timetable attached. Changing it would require a vote in the Verkhovna Rada, and the ministry has signalled it will not initiate legislation while the industry remains divided.

Duty-free channel for producers already operating

At the same time, Vysotskyi confirmed there is a position in favour of allowing agricultural producers to export rapeseed and soybean seeds directly without paying the duty. That channel, he said, is already functioning.

«The State Agrarian Register works: the rapeseed component works, the soybean component has been launched, the cooperatives component has been launched — export without payment of the duty works», he said. The mechanism is built around the identity of the exporter rather than the cargo: it covers producers shipping their own crop directly and cooperatives registered in the system. Companies that buy seed from farms and consolidate volumes for export fall outside the exemption as the minister described it, which is where the pressure to abolish the duty outright originates.

Duty revenue is tied to the frontline fund

The fiscal side is the constraint the ministry has placed at the centre of the discussion. Export duties currently form the special fund used to support frontline territories, and Vysotskyi said no proposals have been submitted for alternative ways of filling that fund.

That framing moves the debate out of pure trade policy and into budget policy. Any repeal would have to come with a replacement revenue line, and no market participant or lawmaker has put one forward. Until that changes, the ministry has a ready argument for leaving the duties in place, independent of how the split among producers, traders and processors is eventually resolved.

What exporters face now

For the market the practical result is continuity. The duties on rapeseed and soybean seed exports remain, the producer and cooperative exemption remains available through the State Agrarian Register, and no draft law is being prepared for the Verkhovna Rada. Exporters negotiating forward contracts must price on the current rules. The ministry described the situation as an ongoing dialogue rather than a decision deferred to a fixed date, and no deadline for reaching a consolidated position was given.