MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Manufacturing in Argentina was 5% down during 2018

Automobiles and auto-parts production were down 25.1%, and farm machinery 48.3%, according to Indec's release

Manufacturing performance in Argentina during 2018 was one of the worst since the 2001/02 collapse and melting of the country's economy according to the latest release from the stats office, Indec. Manufacturing dropped 14.7% in December compared to the same month in 2017, ending 2018 with an overall decrease of 5%.

Food and Beverage registered a 2.8% contraction during December; Tobacco, down 11.4%; Textiles, 36.3%; Clothing, leather and footwear, 10.8%, and Wood, paper, and printing, slipped 13.8%.

Likewise Crude refining, coke and nuclear fuel dropped 7.5%; chemical products and substances, 11.1%; rubber and plastic, 17.5%; non metallic materials, 15.5%; basic metal industries, 21.3%; metal products, 14.1%; machinery, 29.4%; other equipment and instruments, 31.4%; and automobiles and auto-parts, 25.1%, and farm machinery 48.3%.

Manufacturing in Argentina had dropped 13.3% in November, 6.8% in October and 11.5% in September comprising eight months running of recession.

Last year Argentina agreed to a US$ 56 billion standby loan from the IMF to overcome the midyear financial and foreign exchange situation. IMF has forecasted the Argentine economy contracted 2.6% last year and will fall a further 1.6% this year.