Change of era: oil beats corn and soybeans, and is the product that Argentina exports the most

Oil became Argentina’s largest export productas reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec), based on data from May 2026.

As an individual good, it beat corn and soybeans – but not the sum of their derivatives – due to the increase in the quantities sold by the boom of Vaca Muerta and the increase in energy pricesas a consequence of the war between the United States and Israel against Iran.

Exports last month climbed to a historical record in nominal terms – not adjusted for inflation in dollars – of US$ 9,537 million, of which US$ 1,172 million, or 12.3% of the total, were crude oil.

In the first five months of 2026on a total of foreign sales of 40,359 million dollars, US$ 3,773 million corresponded to crude oilmainly the unconventional one from Neuquén destined for the United States and Chile.

The change in the energy matrix is ​​consolidated in the external accounts

The surplus in May was US$3,504 million, six times more than in May 2025 (US$607 million), exceeding the surplus for all of last year in the first five months. The accumulated balance for the year was close to… pic.twitter.com/4jp9FvN2CT

— equilibra (@_equilibra) June 18, 2026

The consultant Balance He highlighted that the trade surplus for May was US$3,504 million, and the accumulated surplus for the year, of US$11,783 million, already exceeds the result for all of 2025. “Energy explains almost half of that improvement: The energy surplus accumulated US$ 5,450 million in May, a record figure for the 21st century in constant dollars“said the firm that directs Martin Rapetti.

In addition, he indicated that the increase in exports in May “responds to greater quantities sold (+18% year-on-year), led by energy: exported volumes grew 78% compared to the previous year, driven by the 165% increase in oil.”

To Labour, Capital & Growth (LCG)the drop in the international price of crude oil, “in the context of possible détentes in the Middle East, would reduce the power of fuel exports” in the future.

Just as the commercial improvement is largely due to the jump in the production of shale oilwhich rose thanks to the stabilization of the economy and the deployment of evacuation infrastructure, there was also a impact on public accounts of energy importswhich have been falling sharply since 2024.

So far in 2026, purchases of Fuels and Lubricants totaled just 779 million dollars, with a drop of 37.7% compared to the first five months of the previous year.

The main energy import products were traditionally Bolivian natural gas, liquefied gas, diesel and fuel oil, but these were reduced to a minimum due to increased gas production, infrastructure and the deployment of renewable energy.

Meanwhile, another sector that is gaining weight in the trade balance is mining. Gold is the seventh largest export product, with 4.3% of the May total -US$ 410 million-, with Santa Cruz as the leader and lithium becomes important in the Northwest.

It is expected that mining could climb from $6 billion in exports in 2025 to about $9 billion at the end of this year, with higher metal prices.

Abeceb, the consulting firm founded by Dante Sica, predicted that “the year would close with a trade surplus of around US$20 billion or even higher, almost double the US$11.32 billion of last year.” He attributed the figure mainly to the energy and mining records, and to the traditional contribution of the countryside.

“This magnitude of the trade balance would have seemed optimistic at the beginning of the year, but at the end of the first half it seems even moderate,” he concluded.