La Secretary of Energy It once again shifted the pieces in the biofuels market and defined a new price benchmark for the Biodiesel and bioethanol which are required to be mixed with diesel and gasoline. The update is in effect during December and it falls within the regulatory framework that sets minimum values ​​for supplying the domestic market.
With this decision, the Government is implementing increases of up to 5,11% in regulated biofuels, in a context of cost pressures and a broader review of energy tariffs. The new figures were reflected in the Resolutions 485 and 486/2025, published in the Official Gazette, and will remain in effect until the energy portfolio reviews them again.
What will the new biodiesel prices be in December?
Biodiesel, which in the case of Argentina is mainly produced from soy oil and is intended for mandatory mixing with the diesel fuel, was one of the key features of the update. Through the Resolution 485 / 2025The Energy Secretariat set the acquisition price of $1.775.230 per ton for all transactions carried out throughout December.
This value represents an increase of 5,11%. with respect to the level that was in effect in November and will apply until a new reference table is published. In parallel, the regulations establish that the payment deadline for biodiesel purchases It cannot exceed 7 consecutive days from the invoice issue date, a requirement that seeks to provide some financial oxygen to the production plants.
The official considerations argue that the biodiesel market conditions They justify setting a new price, particularly because of the soybean oil price increase and other inputs, as well as by the effects of the economic and energy emergency declared by the Government.
This adjustment comes after a measure had already been implemented in early November. 6,2% increase in the value of biodiesel, with the stated objective of addressing the demands of the sector and preventing the shutdown of plants that had been operating with increasingly tight margins.
Sugarcane and corn bioethanol: increases close to 5%
The other part of the update falls on the bioethanol, renewable fuel that is mixed with the oil for retail sale. Resolution 486 / 2025 defined the new minimum purchase prices for the domestic market, differentiating by type of raw material used.
These amounts represent the mandatory minimum values those to whom marketing operations must be closed in the Internal marketso that oil companies that acquire bioethanol for blending with gasoline cannot pay below those benchmarks.
Regarding payment terms, the Ministry of Energy determined that bioethanol transactions will have a maximum payment term of 30 calendar days from the invoice date, for both sugarcane and corn products. This scheme aims to provide some predictability to the cash flows of sugar mills and distilleries.
Legal framework, energy emergency and update criteria
The resolutions that update the values ​​of biodiesel and bioethanol are based on the Law 27.640 on Biofuelsregulations that delegate to the energy authority the power to define the prices and marketing conditions of these products intended for mandatory mixing.
The official text recalls that, through previous instruments such as the Resolution 373 / 23, were established procedures for calculating prices of sugarcane and corn bioethanol, with the aim of reflecting the actual production costs and guarantee a minimum profitability for companies in the sector. At the same time, these rules allow for adjustments when significant discrepancies are detected.
In particular, the Energy Secretariat emphasizes that it has the power to modify regulated prices when the values ​​resulting from the calculation scheme do not keep pace with the evolution of the inputs or when they generate distortions in the final price of fossil fuels at the pumps.
The reference to the economic and energy emergency This is no small matter: the Government is trying to balance the accounts of biofuel producing companies while also avoiding an excessive jump in the prices paid by consumers at service stations, a particularly sensitive point in the midst of escalating inflation.
Effects on the domestic fuel market
Decisions about the price of biofuels are made in parallel with other movements in the energy tariff board, such as updates to the charts of gas and electricity or the adjustments in the fuel taxesAll of this forms a package of measures that, taken together, could end up impacting the finances of households and businesses.
In the specific case of biodiesel, the product is mixed with diesel fuel in a percentage regulated by Law 27.640, currently of 7,5%., although the Government did implement a temporary reduction to 7% to moderate the effect of input costs on the final fuel price. This type of change in the mandatory blending is part of the tools the Secretariat uses to manage the impact at the pump.
In turn, the bioethanol It is mixed with gasoline in a 12%. total, divided into 6% from corn and 6% from sugar caneThe possibility of increasing these percentages has been discussed within the sector, with projects proposing to raise the bioethanol blend to 15%. and the biodiesel one 10%.although for now these are proposals under analysis.
Market participants warn that the combination of a increase in biofuelsThis, along with updates to specific taxes and other components of the supply chain (transport, distribution, logistics), can lead to new increases in liquid fuel prices in the coming weeks, something the Executive is trying to pace to avoid an even greater inflationary surge.
A sector seeking stability and profitability
Behind the December update lies a productive background: the biofuels sector It has been experiencing months of tension due to rising raw material costs and the difficulty of sustaining activity with lagging prices. In this context, the Government had already acknowledged that it was necessary restore regulated values to allow the reactivation of plants that had reduced or slowed their operations.
Business organizations have long warned about the need for a foreseeable price framework and clear rules in the medium term. Some projects under discussion aim precisely to redefine the current law, review the blending percentages, and guarantee automatic review schemes that better reflect cost variability, both in the domestic and international markets.
The government insists that recent decisions, including the almost monthly price increases this year and adjustments to blending limits, are aimed at to preserve market stability, protect consumers, and provide predictability for producersHowever, the balance between these objectives remains fragile and subject to the evolution of input prices, the exchange rate, and domestic fuel demand.
With the new scheme that will govern during December, the end of the year finds biofuels at the center of the energy debate: on the one hand, as tool to diversify the matrix and reduce dependence on fossil fuels; on the other hand, as a sensitive component in the formation of prices paid by carriers, industries and motorists.
The regulatory move by the Ministry of Energy leaves a scenario in which Biodiesel and bioethanol are facing the final stretch of the year with prices somewhat more in line with their costsHowever, the question remains as to what extent these corrections will be passed on to the pumps and how they will affect the rest of the energy chain in the coming months.
