During the traditional year-end toast organized by the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange (Bolsa de Cereales) together with other sector entities, Gustavo Idígoras, president of the Argentine Oilseed Industry Chamber (CIARA-CEC), reviewed the results of 2025 and highlighted one of the biggest transformations in the Argentine agro-industrial complex: the strong comeback of sunflower as a strategic crop.
Idígoras described 2025 as a positive year for the oilseed sector, with good winter and summer campaigns, relatively stable markets and high crushing volumes. However, he stressed that the real surprise came from sunflower, whose rapid expansion has repositioned Argentina on the global stage.
“We are extremely proud and very optimistic that producers will continue investing in sunflower,” said Idígoras. “It is recovering its historic place; it is a crop perfectly suited to Argentina’s climate and production conditions.”
He explained that sunflower has regained ground thanks to its excellent adaptation to local conditions and the key role played by the crushing industry, which has successfully placed Argentine sunflower oil in strategic markets. He highlighted recent progress in opening or expanding access to India, China and South American countries, where consumption continues to rise.
Regarding competitors, Idígoras noted: “We have two main rivals, Ukraine and Russia, who remain in the middle of a war in which Russia continues attacking Ukraine. That war severely limits their production and export capacity. Argentina used to be the world’s fifth-largest sunflower oil exporter; since September 2025, we are now the third, thanks to this strong growth.”
The official and private-sector push for sunflower is further supported by an international scenario in which demand for sunflower oil is growing strongly due to supply difficulties in the traditional major suppliers. “We see an excellent future ahead and we want producers to keep investing,” he emphasized.
Strong growth in trade with China
Idígoras pointed out that 2025 was a year of explosive expansion with China: “If we compare export statistics with last year, soybean shipments to China tripled from 4 million tonnes to more than 12 million tonnes.” This surge is largely due to the ongoing U.S.-China trade war. He added that very positive talks are underway to begin shipping Argentine wheat to China in the upcoming campaign and possibly corn as early as March–April 2026.
EU deforestation regulation postponed
Regarding the European regulation on deforestation-free products (postponed until December 2026), Idígoras said: “In Argentina, both for beef and soybeans, we have been working intensively and we are ready to comply.” He sees the delay as an opportunity to push for fairer and more practical implementation rules, especially against requirements considered excessive, such as mandatory grain segregation.
Export taxes (retenciones) and fiscal goals
Idígoras was clear that the government’s goal of achieving a 2.5% fiscal surplus in 2026 means “there will likely be no special regimes or temporary reductions in export taxes next year.” Nevertheless, he urged the sector to keep pressing for reductions.
For wheat and barley in particular, he argued that “retenciones should be eliminated or substantially lowered today, because their fiscal impact is minimal, the crops are already sown, and the international market is punishing prices due to oversupply. In that context, some relief measure should be announced.”
Call for an Agro-Industrial Investment Law
Finally, Idígoras stressed the urgent need for a comprehensive Agro-Industrial Investment Law that would create a second major economic engine alongside the grain and oilseed complex. He noted that the Argentine Agro-Industrial Council (CAA) and other entities are already in talks with lawmakers to draft and present the bill.
In short, 2025 marked the triumphant return of sunflower, consolidating Argentina once again as one of the world’s top players in the sunflower oil market and opening a promising chapter for the entire agro-industrial chain.