The first semester of 2025 made it clear that not all Argentine export complexes fared the same. While some declined or barely maintained volumes, mining and energy consolidated as the sectors with the highest relative growth, expanding their weight in foreign trade.
Together, gold and silver, lithium, and /energy contributed nearly 21% of the total exported in the semester, with variation rates that tripled or quadrupled the general average.
Gold, silver, lithium, and oil
According to the latest INDEC report that measured the evolution of the main export complexes, the soybean complex remained the country’s primary one with US$ 11.484 billion and a 28.9% share of the total, albeit with a year-on-year decline of 10.7%. In contrast, gold and silver, lithium, and oil were the engines of the global increase.
The gold and silver complex exported US$ 2234 million and accounted for 5.6% of the total, with a year-on-year increase of 45.8% that made it the fifth export complex, surpassing traditional strongholds like the meat, fish, and wheat sectors.
Who are the importers of Argentine mining
In a semester of widespread decline in international prices, this gold and silver sector stood out for its volume and geographic concentration: five countries absorbed over 90% of gold purchases, while in the case of silver, the main destinations were China and the European Union. Precious metals mining thus ranked among the country’s top ten export complexes and was the one with the highest relative growth rate.
Lithium, although still with a lower absolute weight (US$ 393 million, barely 1% of the total), consolidated as another of the most dynamic sectors: it grew 34.4% year-on-year, sustained 91% by carbonate. Dependence on China deepened (US$ 284 million, over two-thirds of the total), reaffirming market concentration.
Despite its reduced scale compared to traditional complexes like corn (US$ 5175 million) or meat (US$ 2492 million), lithium showed a proportional expansion that contrasts with the declines in grains and agricultural manufactures.
The oil takeoff
The oil-petrochemical complex, for its part, contributed US$ 5650 million and reached a 14.2% share in external sales, with a 9.7% year-on-year growth. The complex, with its commercial vigor, dethroned the automotive industry from the second place on the export podium some time ago.
Its sectoral balance showed a surplus of US$ 3280 million, expanding the previous year’s result by almost 24% thanks to increased exports and reduced imports (-5.2%).
The contrast is evident: while soy and corn declined in year-on-year terms, and industrial sectors like automotive or chemicals showed more modest performances, the mining and energy complexes gained specific weight in the export basket.
The Argentine export map of the first semester of 2025, in short, was marked by the weakness of the traditional agro-industrial complexes and by the momentum of mining and energy, which are consolidating as strategic vectors in the country’s external diversification.
