Agribusiness urges president to veto bill on export duty on soybeans, rapeseed; return it for revision

Agrarian associations appealed to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy with an appeal not to sign, veto and return for reconsideration to the parliament Law of Ukraine No. 13157, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on July 16, 2025, which provides for the introduction of an export duty on soybean and rapeseed seeds, the press service of the Ukrainian Agri Council said.

"On behalf of the members of our associations, we express a categorical protest against the adoption of the aforementioned changes regarding the introduction of an export duty on soybean and rapeseed seeds," the appeal reads.

The farmers recalled that Ukraine had already had a similar experience in 2017-2020, when the abolition of VAT for the export of these crops led to a sharp decrease in the area under their cultivation.

"These legislative changes led to a 34% decrease in the area under soybeans – from 1.99 million hectares (2017) to 1.32 million hectares (2021). According to estimates by Kyiv School of Economics, the losses of farmers amounted to about $110 million per year," the business associations said.

The agricultural associations said the introduction of the duty would negatively affect not only the domestic market, but also Ukraine's international reputation.

"The proposed duty contradicts the Association Agreement with the EU. Article 31 of the agreement directly prohibits Ukraine from introducing new export duties. Such changes violate Ukraine's international obligations and may become the basis for the introduction of mirror duties by the EU on products from Ukraine, which will be a disaster for the industry," the signatories said.

They drew attention to the fact that the innovation will hit small and medium-sized agricultural producers especially hard, who are unable to export their products independently. At the same time, over 75% of the sown areas in Ukraine are cultivated by such farmers. After all, they do not have sufficient production volumes to independently form export batches and enter the foreign market, so they work through traders and processors.

Separately, the farmers emphasized the inconsistency of the law with the Tax Code of Ukraine. The entry into force of the provisions providing for the introduction of export duty immediately after its publication contradicts the principle of stability of tax legislation established in Article 7 of the Tax Code.

Agrarian associations asked the President of Ukraine not to sign the law On amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine and other legislative acts of Ukraine in connection with the adoption of the law On integrated prevention and control of industrial pollution, to apply the right of veto to it and return it for reconsideration to the Verkhovna Rada, proposing to exclude from it the provisions on amendments to the law On export duty rates for seeds of certain types of oilseeds.

The appeal was signed by the Public Organization "Agrarian Union of Ukraine," the Association of Farmers and Private Landowners of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Agri Council, the Ukrainian Grain Association, the Ukrainian Bean and Soybean Association, the Seed Association of Ukraine.