Between January and September 2026, crude oil overtook soybean meal for the first time as Argentina's main export product, with $7.753 billion versus $6.971 billion, according to the Rosario Board of Trade.
For decades, the soybean agroindustry was the great dollar generator of Argentine foreign trade. But the advance of Vaca Muerta is beginning to change that map: between January and September 2026, crude oil overtook soybean meal for the first time as the country's main individual export product, a shift that reflects two very different production trajectories.
According to a report by the Rosario Board of Trade (BCR), prepared on the basis of data from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC), Argentine crude oil exports reached $7.753 billion in the first nine months of the year, with year-on-year growth of 58.6%. In the same period, soybean meal shipments abroad totaled $6.971 billion, with a more moderate improvement of 7.4% compared with the same period of 2025.
The difference is not just a matter of circumstance. Over a five-year perspective, the gap is even more significant: “For this window of time, the exported value of oil is 6.5 times higher than that recorded five years ago (2021), while exports of the soybean derivative are equivalent to three quarters of the value reached that year,” the BCR specialists noted.
The growth in oil exports is directly linked to the development of unconventional reserves and the investments made in recent years to increase production. “Argentina is experiencing a production boom driven by large investments in Vaca Muerta, where the exploitation of unconventional reserves reversed the stagnation of the sector and export figures today follow the trend of production,” the report describes.
That expansion of supply was joined during 2026 by a favorable international scenario in terms of prices. The Rosario association highlighted that the Brent barrel came to exceed $100 amid geopolitical tensions and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. On average, the oil price during the year stood 23% above that recorded in 2025.
The situation for soybean meal is quite different. Argentina remains a relevant player in international trade in oilseed derivatives, but it faces much more intense competition than it did at the beginning of the century. “The traditional star product of Argentine foreign trade is finding it difficult to continue expanding its external sales,” the report warns.
One of the central factors is related to changes in international demand. The expansion of biofuel mandates boosted soybean oil consumption, but at the same time generated greater availability of meal as a byproduct of the industrial processing of the oilseed. “Indeed, world meal production has doubled over the past 20 years,” the specialists pointed out, adding that global consumption grew at a slower pace than supply, which ultimately determined “that export prices show downward pressure.”
The energy sector's contribution is also reflected in the foreign exchange market. According to data from the Central Bank of the Republic of Argentina (BCRA) cited by the Rosario board, the balance between export receipts and payments for goods imports in the energy sector reached $7.890 billion between January and September 2026.
The figure contrasts with the $4.337 billion recorded during the same period last year and constitutes a new high for the energy foreign exchange balance. In September alone, net foreign currency inflows for goods from the sector reached $1.120 billion, 108% more than in the same month of 2025.
