Bolivia guarantees free import tax duty for agchem

The Government of Bolivia recently signed a ‘Supreme Decree’ allowing zero duty for imports of chemicals. The Bolivian Association of Oilseed and Wheat Producers (ANAPO) said this measure can effectively reduce production costs.

 

Meanwhile, the Association of Agricultural Input Suppliers (APIA) indicated that agrochemicals imported from countries in the region are already being imported at zero duty. In addition, the APIA noted that Chinese agrochemicals have gained a greater share of the domestic market.

 

ANAPO Chairman Demetrio Pérez, said the new tariff zero policy “can lower the cost of production”, but also warned that “now we must also focus on how to complement technical assistance since with the authorization of agchem direct imports and not through distribution companies we don’t get the assistance they used to give to producers.”

 

Meanwhile, APIA General Manager, Jaime Palenque, explained that products that are currently imported from the countries of the Andean Community and Mercosur pay no imports taxes, while those from other countries pay a 10% tax.

 

According to the Bolivian Institute of Foreign Trade (IBCE) in the period 2000-2012 the value of purchases of chemicals products went up 300 percent.