That dollar amount reflects a 45.3% advance from $54.9 billion five years earlier during 2020.
Year over the year, the overall value of goods exported from Argentina accelerated by 19.5% compared to $66.7 billion in 2023.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2024, the Argentine peso plunged by a sobering -71.2% against the US dollar from 2023 to 2024. 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 was bought by importers in: Brazil (17.1% of the Argentine total), United States of America (8.1%), Chile (7.9%), mainland China (7.5%), India (4.9%), Vietnam (4.1%), Peru (3.1%), Uruguay (2.24%), Switzerland (2.13%), Netherlands (2.12%), Saudi Arabia (1.87%) and Spain (1.81%).
From a continental perspective, 38.2% of Argentina’s exports by value was delivered to Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean countries while 31.0% was sold to importers in Asia.
Argentina shipped another 14.2% worth of goods to buyers in Europe. Smaller percentages went to customers in North America (10.7%), Africa (5.1%) then Oceania (0.8%) Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.
Given Argentina’s population of 47.2 million people, its total $79.7 billion in 2024 exports translates to roughly $1,700 for every resident in the South American country. That per-capita metric surpasses the average $1,400 for 2023.
Argentina’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Argentine global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Argentina.
- Cereals: US$10.1 billion (12.7% of total exports)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: $8.4 billion (10.5%)
- Vehicles: $7.8 billion (9.8%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $7.5 billion (9.4%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $7.2 billion (9.1%)
- Meat: $3.4 billion (4.3%)
- Oil seeds: $3.1 billion (3.9%)
- Gems, precious metals: $2.7 billion (3.4%)
- Fish: $1.9 billion (2.4%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $1.3 billion (1.7%)
Argentina’s top 10 export product categories comprised over two-thirds (67.1%) of the overall value of total Argentine shipments.
Oil seeds represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 51.6% from 2022 to 2023.
In second place for improving export sales was the animal or vegetable fats, oils and waxes grouping via a 43.9% advance.
Argentina’s shipments of food industry waste and animal fodder posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 33.9%.
The most modest gainer among Argentina’s top 10 export categories was vehicles, putting in a 0.3% year-over-year upturn.
At the more detailed 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, Argentina’s most valuable exported products are corn, soyabean oilcake and other solid residues, soyabean oil, crude oil, trucks, frozen beef, wheat, soya beans, gold and cars.
Products Generating Greatest Trade Surpluses for Argentina
Argentina recorded an overall US$18.9 billion trade surplus for 2024, reversing a -$7 billion deficit one year earlier in 2023.
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$10.1 billion (Up by 26% since 2023)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: $8.3 billion (Up by 35.1%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $7.1 billion (Up by 44.9%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $3.7 billion (Reversing a -$1.7 billion deficit)
- Meat: $3.3 billion (Up by 8.8%)
- Gems, precious metals: $2.6 billion (Up by 35.6%)
- Fish: $1.9 billion (Up by 13.9%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $1.3 billion (Up by 9.9%)
- Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $931.9 million (Up by 34.5%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $799.6 million (Up by 18.1%)
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$8.5 billion (Down by -13.7% since 2023)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$5.9 billion (Down by -25.7%)
- Organic chemicals: -$2.4 billion (Down by -21.3%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$1.8 billion (Down by -24.2%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$1.7 billion (Down by -1.6%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$1.6 billion (Down by -9.1%)
- Fertilizers: -$1.5 billion (Up by 10.4%)
- Vehicles: -$1.1 billion (Up by 185.2%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: -$901.8 million (Down by -17.9%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$823.1 million (Down by -12.4%)
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 5.9% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2024 ($1.354 trillion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 5.9% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2024 compares to 5.5% for 2023. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing 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 8.15% for 2024, up from an average 6.125% jobless rate one year earlier for 2023 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 February 18, 2025
Forbes 2020 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on February 18, 2025
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on February 18, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on February 18, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on February 18, 2025
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on February 18, 2025
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Argentina. Accessed on February 18, 2025
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on February 18, 2025
X-rates.com, Exchange Rates: Argentine Peso to US Dollar (monthly average 2024)