Global Agriculture

EU revises Import duties for maize, sorghum and rye

12 August 2020, Brussels: Due to a decrease of maize prices on the global market, the import duty for maize, sorghum and rye in the European Union is now set at €5.48 per tonne as of 12 August 2020.

Read: Bayer and Temasek unveil innovative new company focused on developing breakthroughs in vertical farming

The revised tariff, published on 12 August 2020 in the EU Official Journal, is calculated based on the difference between the European reference price and the world benchmark for maize (i.e. the US cif price – cost, insurance and freight included – at the port of Rotterdam), in line with the rule set in the EU Regulation 642/2010.

The tariff for maize, sorghum and rye has been updated four times in the last four months. At first, due to a significant drop of the US cif maize price, mainly as a result of the collapse of bioethanol demand in the US, the import duty increased from €0 to €5.27 per tonne in the end of April. It was further updated soon after, setting it at €10.40. Later on, the US maize price increased again. In parallel, a forecast for a lower maize harvest in the US in 2020/21 pushed maize prices further up. This led to a significant increase of maize prices on the global market and the import tariffs in the EU came back to €0 per tonne at the beginning of July.

Read: Sumitomo Corporation Group invests in a Start-up in Israel

More recently, the US cif maize price at the port of Rotterdam started decreasing again due to both the US price for maize and the US dollar against the euro falling, triggering the automatic calculation mechanism for setting import duties for maize, sorghum and rye in the European Union.