That dollar amount reflects a 2.4% upturn from $65.1 billion five years earlier during 2019.
Year over the year, the overall value of goods exported from Argentina shrank by -24.4% compared to $88.3 billion in 2022.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, the Argentine peso depreciated by a sobering -515.3% against the US dollar since 2019 and fell by -126.8% from 2022 to 2023. Argentina’s weaker local currency makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Argentina’s Best International Trade Customers
The latest available country-specific data shows that 62.9% of products exported from Argentina were bought by importers in: Brazil (17.8% of the Argentine total), United States of America (8.4%), mainland China (7.7%), Chile (7.4%), Peru (3.8%), India (3.7%), Vietnam (3.1%), Uruguay (2.6%), Netherlands (2.3%), Spain (2.2%), Colombia (1.92%) and Malaysia (1.88%).
From a continental perspective, 28.6% of Argentina’s exports by value was delivered to Asian countries while 40.3% was sold to importers in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean. Argentina shipped another 13.8% worth of goods to buyers in Europe.
Smaller percentages went to North America (11.1%), Africa (5.2%), then Oceania’s (1%) Australia and New Zealand only.
Given Argentina’s population of 46.8 million people, its total $66.7 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $1,400 for every resident in the South American country. That per-capita metric lags the average $1,900 for 2022.
Argentina’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Argentine global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Argentina.
- Cereals: US$8.1 billion (12.1% of total exports)
- Vehicles: $7.8 billion (11.7%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: $6.3 billion (9.4%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $6.1 billion (9.2%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $5 billion (7.5%)
- Meat: $3.1 billion (4.7%)
- Oil seeds: $2.1 billion (3.1%)
- Gems, precious metals: $2 billion (3.1%)
- Fish: $1.7 billion (2.5%)
- Machinery including computers: $1.3 billion (1.9%)
Argentina’s top 10 exports comprised almost two-thirds (65.1%) of the overall value of total Argentine shipments.
Gems and precious metals was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 11.6% from 2022 to 2023. Gold spearheaded that percentage gain.
In second place for improving export sales were mineral fuels including oil via a 5.8% advance.
Argentina’s shipments of vehicles posted the only other year-over-year increase, up by 4.4%.
The severest decliner among Argentina’s top 10 export categories was oil seeds, plummeting by -51.2% year over year.
At the detailed 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, Argentina’s most valuable exported products are corn, soyabean oilcake and other solid residues, trucks, crude oil, soyabean oil, frozen beef, cars, petroleum gases, gold and soya beans.
Products Generating Greatest Trade Surpluses for Argentina
Argentina recorded an overall -US$3.1 billion trade deficit for 2023, reversing a $12.1 billion surplus one year earlier in 2022.
The following types of Argentine product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus.
Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Cereals: US$8 billion (Down by -44.5% since 2022)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: $6.2 billion (Down by -35.2%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $4.9 billion (Down by -34.2%)
- Meat: $3 billion (Down by -21.4%)
- Gems, precious metals: $1.9 billion (Up by 17.9%)
- Fish: $1.6 billion (Down by -0.7%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $1.2 billion (Down by -22.2%)
- Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $699.7 million (Up by 3.8%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $683.2 million (Down by -17.6%)
- Milling products, malt, starches: $629.7 million (Down by -8.4%)
Argentina has highly positive net exports in the international trade of cereals, notably corn, wheat, barley and rice. In turn, these cashflows indicate Argentina’s competitive advantages under the cereals category.
Products Causing Greatest Trade Deficits for Argentina
Below are exports from Argentina that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Argentina’s goods trail Argentine importer spending on foreign products.
- Machinery including computers: -US$9.4 billion (Down by -2.1% since 2022)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$7.6 billion (Down by -3.6%)
- Oil seeds: -$3.3 billion (Reversing a $2.1 billion surplus)
- Organic chemicals: -$2.9 billion (Down by -20.5%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$2.2 billion (Down by -6.2%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$1.7 billion (Down by -23.5%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$1.7 billion (Up by 1.7%)
- Iron, steel: -$1.4 billion (Down by -9%)
- Fertilizers: -$1.2 billion (Down by -51.1%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: -$1.1 billion (Down by -81.8%)
Argentina has highly negative net exports and therefore a deep international trade deficit under the machinery including computers category.
These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Argentina’s competitive disadvantages in the global machinery market, but also represent key opportunities for Argentina to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations.
Argentina’s Export Companies
Not one of Argentina’s corporations ranks among Forbes’ Global 2000.
Wikipedia does list relatively smaller exporters from Argentina. Selected examples are shown below.
- Al Este (wine)
- Aluar (aluminum)
- Bridas Corporation (oil, gas)
- Bunge Limited (grains, oilseed)
- Grupo Arcor (chocolates, cookies, ice cream)
- La Serenísima (dairy products)
- Loma Negra (cement)
- SanCor (dairy products)
- Transportadora de Gas del Sur (natural gas)
- Zanella (motorcycles)
In macroeconomic terms, Argentina’s total exported goods represent 5.4% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($1.24 trillion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 5.4% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 7.3% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Argentina’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Argentina’s unemployment rate averaged 7.35% for 2023, up from an average 6.825% jobless rate one year earlier for 2022 according to International Monetary Fund statistics.
Argentina’s capital city is Buenos Aires.
See also Argentina’s Top Trading Partners, Argentina’s Top 10 Imports and Top South American Export Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on March 28, 2024
Forbes 2019 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on March 28, 2024
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on March 28, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on March 28, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on March 28, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on March 28, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on March 28, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Argentina. Accessed on March 28, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on March 28, 2024