BUENOS AIRES (Dow Jones)--Argentina has stepped up customs controls on
sunflower seed oil and soyoil exports, stalling shipments, in a repeat of
similar moves imposed on beef exports to boost domestic supply.

  "The Customs Agency has applied new control measures to the export of oils to
effectively verify the amount and quality of the exported merchandise and the
declared values," a customs spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires via email.

  On Wednesday, the approval of sunseed oil export permits was blocked due to
the new measures, according to local brokerage Agropuerto.

  The production of soy and sunseed oil has also been disrupted by an ongoing
conflict with the farm sector over the export tax on grains. Farmers have been
on strike intermittently since mid-March when the new sliding scale export tax
scheme was announced. The new taxes sharply raised the export duty on soybean
shipments, the country's principal crop.

  The sunseed oil market "has been seriously affected by the (conflict with
farmers)," Argentine sunflower association, Asagir, economist Jorge Ingaramo
said in a release Thursday.

  Argentina is the world's leading exporter of both soyoil and sunseed oil.
Soaring sunseed oil prices and strong international demand have caused
shipments to climb sharply in recent months.

  While the measure is expected to affect soyoil exports, the focus appears to
be on sunseed oil, which is the primary cooking oil used by domestic consumers.

  Argentina exported 109,312 metric tons of sunseed oil in April, up from the
66,331 tons shipped in April 2007, according to the Agriculture Secretariat.

  Export commitment declarations reached 912,516 metric tons as of May 12, up
sharply from 734,026 tons at the same date a year earlier, according to the
Secretariat.

  Argentina is expected to have about 1.8 million tons of sunseed oil available
for export from the 2007-08 crop, according to Agropuerto.

  The move marks the latest barrier thrown up by the government to hinder
exports of agricultural goods to boost domestic supply and shield local
consumers from the effects of soaring inflation in food prices. New wheat
exports have been blocked since November. Beef exports have been virtually shut
down since April with customs agents weaving a bureaucratic cobweb to deny
export permits.

  The latest measures imposed on soy and sunseed oil follow the closure of the
registry for new grain shipments for 15 workdays, which was announced two weeks
ago. The government said the closure was needed to facilitate the transfer of
control over exports from the Agriculture Secretariat to the Agricultural Trade
Office.

  Exporters must make a sworn declaration to the government of an export sale
before shipping goods.

  However, there are some concerns the export registry will remain closed
beyond May as the battle with farmers drags on.

  "There are growing doubts about what's going to happen with corn once the
(15-day period) passes," Roagro analyst Carlos Boglioli said Thursday.