The Argentine exports of goods and services reached USD 32.499 billion during the second quarter of 2026, representing a year-on-year growth of 28.2% and a new historical record for that period of the year achieved under the management of Javier Milei, according to data from the Balance of Payments released by INDEC.
The performance of the external sector allowed the current account to register a surplus of USD 2.214 billion during the second quarter of 2026. One of the main drivers was the trade of goods: exports reached USD 27.557 billion, about USD 6.500 billion more than a year ago, while imports totaled USD 18.264 billion. Thus, the goods surplus reached USD 9.293 billion.
Javier Milei alongside his Minister of Economy, Luis "Toto" Caputo
Among the main exporting complexes, soybeans stood out with USD 5.883 billion; the oil-petrochemical sector with USD 5.030 billion; corn with USD 2.597 billion; automotive with USD 2.533 billion; and gold and silver with USD 1.591 billion. The export dynamism is also reflected in the data from the first half of the year, a period in which external sales grew in all five regions of the country.
In turn, service exports reached USD 4.942 billion, also a record for a second quarter, mainly driven by business services and those related to telecommunications, computing, and information.
The result of the second quarter occurred in a context of strong expansion of the Argentine foreign trade. Official data also shows that during August, the trade balance of goods accumulated 33 consecutive months of surplus, with exports of USD 8.883 billion and imports of USD 6.696 billion.
Milei's government recorded a trade surplus of USD 2.187 billion in August
In the accumulated data for the first eight months of 2026, exports totaled USD 67.248 billion, with a year-on-year growth of 21.4%, while imports reached USD 48.999 billion. Thus, Argentina accumulated a trade surplus of USD 18.249 billion during that period.
The energy sector played a prominent role in export performance. Between January and August, the mineral fuels surplus reached USD 6.576 billion, compared to USD 3.812 billion in the same period of 2025, while exports from the sector grew by 47.7%, mainly driven by higher shipments of crude oil.
