A record month for exports
Argentina's trade balance recorded a surplus of $2.976 billion in September, the 34th consecutive positive result, according to the Argentine Foreign Trade (ICA) report published by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC). The figure was $2.039 billion higher than the same month of 2025. Exports totaled $10.036 billion, a 23.5% year-on-year rise and a record high for the historical series, driven by a 16.4% increase in prices and a 6.1% gain in volumes.[S1][S2][S3]
Imports amounted to $7.060 billion, down 1.8% from September of last year. The decline stemmed from an 11.2% drop in quantities that a 10.4% rise in prices did not offset. Total goods trade reached $17.095 billion, an 11.6% annual expansion, with exports accounting for 58.7% of the month's operations and imports for 41.3%. On a seasonally adjusted basis, exports rose 8.6% from August while imports edged up 0.2%.[S1][S2][S3]
Between January and September, exports accumulated $77.267 billion, up 21.6% from the same period of 2025, while imports reached $56.069 billion, a 2.5% decline. The accumulated surplus stood at $21.198 billion, compared with $6.046 billion in the first nine months of the previous year. The terms of trade index, which compares export and import prices, rose 5.4% year-on-year; INDEC noted that at September 2025 prices the surplus would have been $2.228 billion, meaning the price shift added $468 million.[S1][S3]
Energy leads the export surge
Fuels and energy posted the largest expansion among the major export categories, with sales up 89.1% year-on-year, combining a 33.4% price increase and a 39.8% gain in quantities. The trade balance for mineral fuels, mineral oils and distillation products left a surplus of $1.441 billion, more than double the $692 million recorded in September 2025, as exports in that chapter rose 88.4%, including a $522 million increase in crude petroleum oils.[S1][S3]
Manufactures of industrial origin grew 17.5%, agricultural manufactures rose 16.8% and primary products increased 9.2%, a category where prices climbed 13.9% while quantities fell 3.4%. Over the accumulated period, fuels and energy led with a 53.6% advance, followed by industrial manufactures at 23%, agricultural manufactures at 14.3% and primary products at 14.5%. Economy Minister Luis Caputo said on X that all four major categories grew year-on-year and that fuels and energy exports were the highest ever for a month.[S1][S3]
Imports by use and trading partners
Among imports, intermediate goods showed the strongest growth by economic use, rising 11.9% year-on-year, equivalent to $268 million, on a 15.7% price increase and a 3.2% drop in quantities, with the largest absolute gain in basic foods and beverages for industry. Fuel and lubricant purchases rose 3.5% despite a 29.4% fall in quantities, owing to a 34.1% price increase. Passenger motor vehicles fell 27.2%, capital goods dropped 10.4%, capital goods parts and accessories declined 3.5% and consumer goods slipped 2.5%.[S1]
The automotive sector kept a deficit of $450 million in September, narrower than the $817 million of the same month of 2025, as complex exports reached $910 million, up 3.6%, and imports fell 19.8% to $1.360 billion. Brazil was the leading destination for accumulated exports through September with 12.7% of the total, followed by the United States at 10% and China at 9.2%. On the import side, China concentrated 23.3% of purchases, Brazil 21.4% and the United States 9.2%.[S1]
Monthly bilateral figures showed China as Argentina's most active partner, with exports of $986 million, down 23.8%, and imports of $1.817 billion, leaving a deficit of $831 million. Brazil recorded exports of $1.206 million, up 2.7%, against imports of $1.375 million, down 19.2%, for a negative balance of $169 million. The United States generated a surplus of $379 million, with exports of $1.011 million, up 38.9%, and imports of $631 million, up 15.6%. Chile produced a surplus of $640 million after exports of $750 million, up 65.7%, and imports of $111 million, up 49.7%.[S2]
What analysts are watching
The CEPEC consultancy noted that the accumulated surplus through September reached $21.198 billion against $6.046 billion a year earlier, strengthening the external front, though it said it will be important to watch whether the improvement holds with export growth and a recovery in imports tied to production. The INDEC report also placed September's surplus as the second-highest month of 2026.[S3]
