Overview
- Using September data across Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and the United States, the survey shows Argentina is costlier in 11 of 13 items versus regional neighbors (69%) and in 7 of 13 versus the U.S. (54%).
- Average price gaps include fertilizers at 5.8% above peers, herbicides at 8.2% higher and grade‑2 diesel at 3% higher in dollar terms.
- Outliers stand out: tractors are 31% above the cross‑country average, combines are 7% below it and fungicides are 7.8% cheaper than in neighboring countries.
- Authors cite residual exchange restrictions, cumulative sales taxes such as Ingresos Brutos and municipal levies, rigid labor rules, high internal logistics costs, smaller scale and uncertainty as drivers of higher prices.
- IERAL urges replacing cascading sales levies with more neutral taxes like VAT and broader microeconomic reforms, while stressing that export duties impose a separate income‑side penalty that creates a "double burden."