Argentine biodiesel exports are expected to plunge up to 39 percent this year versus 2013 due to tariffs imposed by the European Union, according to the Argentina's Biofuels Chamber (Carbio). Argentina exported 1.15 million tonnes of biodiesel in 2013, and until late last year Europe had been the country's main market for the biofuel. "All we have are occasional export contracts, now that the European market is closed to us," Vincent Castro, executive director of Caribo, told Reuters. "Export volume will probably be 700,000 to 750,000 tonnes, with total production at 1.8 to 1.9 million tonnes." The trade group, which represents exporters such as Cargill, Bunge Ltd and Louis Dreyfus, said this year's fall will be even more dramatic compared with 2012, when the South American country exported 1.6 million tonnes of the fuel. The EU in November set biodiesel duties at an average of 24.6 percent for Argentina and imposed similar tariffs on Indonesian biodiesel. Argentina filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization in December over the duties. (Reuters)