Analysis and Studies - Country Analysis
Argentina: a look at the market
May 24th 2024
Argentina is a presidential republic in South America, whose capital is Buenos Aires and that borders Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay by land and Falkland Islands by sea. The official language is Spanish, as the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata declared their independence from Spain only in 1816: however, other languages are also present such as Italian, English, German, French and indigenous languages like Quechua, Guarani, Mapudungun. In fact the country is multicultural, with 97.2% of the population being European (mostly Spanish and Italian descent) and Mestizo (mixed European and Indigenous ancestry) descent, 2.4% Indigenous and 0.4% of African descent.
Currently Argentina is heavily affected by the environmental problems due to the industrialization such as soil degradation, air and water pollution, deforestation.
The flag contains the color blue and white, which respectively represents the clear skies and snow of the Andes, and the sun in the middle of the horizontal bands is a commemoration to its appearance during the cloudy day of 25 May 1810, the date of the first mass demonstration in favor of independence: the sun has human features belonging to Inti, the Inca god of the sun.
As regards the economy, in 2022 the total trade was $87.2B for the exports and $76.9B for the imports, making Argentina take the 47th and 48th place in the world.
In 2022, according to the RCA index, Argentina was the world's biggest exporter of Soybean Oil ($6.79B), Soybean Meal ($12B), Other Vegetable Residues and Waste ($331M), Ground Nuts ($818M) and Ground Nut Oil ($128M).
In a top five of the most important importers for Argentina Brazil takes the first place with $12.6B, ahead of China ($8B), United States ($6.99B), Chile ($5.11B), and India ($4.38B). In the top five of the countries that export to Argentina China is the most important with a trade of $16.4B, followed by Brazil ($15.4B), United States ($11.1B), Germany ($2.69B), and Paraguay ($1.91B).
As regards products, the most exported are Soybean Meal ($12B), Corn ($9.79B), Soybean Oil ($6.79B), Wheat ($4.77B), and Delivery Trucks ($4.53B): this reveals the global reach of Argentina's agricultural sector. Among the most imported product there are Refined Petroleum ($6.79B), Motor vehicles; parts and accessories (8701 to 8705) ($3.58B), Petroleum Gas ($3.49B), Cars ($1.89B), and Soybeans ($1.67B).
This graphic provides a comprehensive overview of Argentina's export landscape, highlighting the key importing countries and the primary products exported to various destinations.
This emphasizes the diverse nature of Argentina's export economy and it’s possible to see that Brazil predilate industrial and automotive trades. Even if Peru doesn’t belong to the top five, it’s present in many of the main products, as opposed to the United States.
- Soybean Meal (13.7%): 8% Vietnam; 10.8% Indonesia; 6.33% Poland; 3.14% Australia; 1.54% Chile
- Corn (11.2%): 13.9% Vietnam; 13.4% South Korea; 8.58% Peru; 7.19% Algeria
- Soybean Oil (7.8%): 45.6% India; 7.56% Bangladesh; 5.95% Peru; 3.83% Morocco
- Wheat (5.48%): 28.8% Brazil; 9.29% Nigeria; 8.66% Indonesia; 4.51% Peru; 1.63% Vietnam
- Delivery trucks (5.2%): 55.9% Brazil; 8.36% Chile; 8.1% Peru
In this graphic we can see that even if Germany and Paraguay have smaller shares they are still notable contributors, with Germany likely exporting high-value goods like machinery and vehicles, and Paraguay contributing mainly agricultural products like soybeans.
These small percentages belonging to the main imported product reveal the complexity and diversification of Argentina's import strategy: for example, refined petroleum comes from a mix of the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Europe, while motor vehicle parts predominantly come from Brazil, indicating strong automotive trade ties with neighboring countries.
- Refined petroleum (8.83%): 37.9% United States; 12.3% Saudi Arabia; 8.17% Netherlands; 5.28% Brazil
- Motor vehicle; parts and accessories (4.65%): 39.4% Brazil; 9.94% Japan; 6.33% Germany; 4.59% China; 4.37% United States
- Petroleum gas (4.54%): 43.95 United States; 38.5% Bolivia; 4.86% Equatorial Guinea; 4.69% Egypt
- Cars (2.46%): 81% Brazil; 4.38% Mexico; 4.29% China; 1.51% Germany
- Soybeans (2.17%): 58.8% Paraguay; 15.3% Uruguay; 14.9% Bolivia; 10.9% Brazil
Between 2021 and 2022 the countries who saw a major growth both in export as in import have been United States, China and Brazil. As regards the export the increase has been of $2.36B for the United States, $2.06B for China and $1.42B for Brazil; whereas as regards the import it has been of $4.57B for the United States, $3.69B for China and $3.23B for Brazil.
Export:
- United states ($2.36B): from $4.63B to $6.99B
- China ($2.06B): from $5.49B to $8B
- Brazil ($1.42B): from $11.2B to $12.6B
Import:
- United States ($4.57B): from $6.48B to $11.1B
- China ($3.69B): from $12.7B to $16.4B
- Brazil ($3.23B): from $12B to $15.4B
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