Argentina Trade Opportunities

Top Export-Import Partners Plus Merchandise Products & Possibilities

Jun 24, 2007 Daniel Workman

Can exporters & importers for South America's richest country profit from a more computerized economy plus demands for Argentina's wines in the international marketplace?

Rich in natural resources, Argentina has a strong export-oriented agricultural sector. Besides livestock, traditional Argentine farm products include corn, grapes, lemons, peanuts, soybeans, sunflower seeds, tea, tobacco and wheat.

The richest South American country also produces a diversified set of industrial products such as chemicals, motor vehicles, processed food, steel and textiles.

Argentina’s Top Export Partners

Argentina’s economy generated US$46.6 billion worth of exports in 2006, up 15.5% from 2005.

The following trade partners consumed the highest percentage of Argentine exports (based on 2005 statistics).

• Brazil … 15.8% of total Argentine exports
• United States … 11.4%
• Chile … 11.2%
• China … 7.9%

Argentina’s Top Import Partners

Argentina imported $31.7 billion worth of products in 2006, up almost 20% from the prior year.

Listed below are the leading providers of imports to Argentina’s economy (based on 2005 statistics).

• Brazil … 35.9% of total Argentine imports
• United States … 14.1%
• China … 7.8%
• Germany … 4.5%

Merchandise Trade between Argentina & U.S.

Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau show that America was Argentina’s second-largest trade partner in 2006. The two nations traded about $8.8 billion in products that the Census Bureau tracks.

According to Census Bureau statistics, Argentine wine and related products generated $93.5 million in exports to America, up 36.2% from 2005. Argentina exported another $1.2 million of other alcoholic beverages to America, up 229%. Non-alcoholic beverages like soft drinks and processed coffee generated $69.2 million, up 28%.

Argentina imported $4.8 billion worth of products from the U.S. in 2006, an annual increase of 15.8%. Argentina’s top imports from the U.S. in 2006 were chemicals including fertilizers, amounting to $875.2 million up almost 18% from 2005.

Opportunities

Perhaps more revealing are statistics showing that last year Argentina imported $121.9 million in computers (up 33.1%) and $400.4 million in computer accessories (up 14.9%). More people in this South American nation can now use computers to conduct online training and marketing as well as Internet businesses and e-commerce projects.

Given that Brazil and China are top importers from Argentina, Argentine wines are strongly positioned to benefit from large consumer markets and higher population growth rates in Latin America and Asia. Prospects for Argentine wines and spirits are enhanced by the growing cohort of increasingly wealthy baby boomers around the world who prefer these more sophisticated – and healthier – beverages.

To expand wine export sales, Argentina must cultivate its wine image on international wine markets through focused promotion. Argentina’s New World wines must be seen as offering extraordinary value with strong brands, clear labelling and cost-effective pricing.

Entrepreneurs can use established trade channels in Brazil, China, Germany and the U.S. to educate the global marketplace about the uniqueness of Argentine alcoholic beverages, thus ensuring the successful entrance of wine companies from Argentina into foreign markets.

Computer-savvy marketing writers can profit by writing promotional materials about Argentine wines and accessories that educate global audiences via the Internet. For example, writers can research and design effective Google international ads that pay good money based on page views and conversions to sales. Since the official language of Argentina is Spanish, and considering that emerging economies like China are major prospects for New World wine exports, translators who can craft compelling marketing materials about Argentine wines in the native languages of their international trade audiences also enjoy lucrative possibilities.

Sources

This analysis is based on latest statistics from the US Census Bureau - Foreign Trade Statistics and CIA World Factbook as of the date of article publication.

The copyright of the article Argentina Trade Opportunities in International Trade is owned by Daniel Workman. Permission to republish Argentina Trade Opportunities in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Buenos Aires, Argentina