Argentina: Economy Shows Growth in December, but Heavily Skewed Towards Agro-Sector.
According to INDEC data, the Monthly Economic Activity Estimator (EMAE) rose by 3.5% year-on-year in December and advanced 1.8% seasonally adjusted from November. The government celebrated this positive result immediately.
The main driver of growth was the agricultural sector, which surged by 32.2%. This jump was fueled by a historic wheat crop, whose volume and yield reached record highs. In second place for its positive contribution was the financial sector at 14.1%. Other sectors showing significant advances were Fishing (18.3%), Electricity, gas, and water (10.7%), and Mining and quarrying (9.1%).
However, the picture was uneven. Four sectors ended with a negative year-on-year performance: Manufacturing industry (-3.9%), Hotels and restaurants (-1.5%), Wholesale, retail, and repairs (-1.3%), and Public administration and defense (-1.1%). Collectively, industry and commerce subtracted 0.8 percentage points from the indicator. Thus, the overall growth for 2025 closed at 4.4%, marking a turning point compared to 2024, when the economy had shown a recession. Despite the overall growth, the recovery was unequal: the agro-sector and finance acted as powerful engines, while industry and commerce are still lagging. The key question ahead is whether this growth can trickle down to the sectors that generate the most urban jobs, which for now have yet to take off.
