MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine MSMEs reach record exports in first semester of 2022

The government is focused on companies that export and help “change the productive matrix of the country,” de Mendiguren said.

Argentine Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) have reached peak export figures during the first semester of 2022.

Shipments to Brazil, the United States, China, Chile, the Netherlands, Uruguay, and Spain totaled US$ 6.617 billion, the highest in the last 9 years, it was reported Wednesday.

The new figures represented a 13% increase year-on-year and 25% against 2020, according to the National Secretariat of Industry and Productive Development. Thus, sales of MSMEs accounted for 15% of total exports in that period, which amounted to US$ 44.377 billion.

“Our priority is that while the economic variables stabilize we sustain the level of activity and continue boosting the companies that export and change the productive matrix of the country,” Secretary of Industry and Productive Development, José Ignacio de Mendiguren, said.

The main destinations of foreign shipments of MSMEs between January and June were Brazil (with over US$1.050 billion), the United States (over US$ 830 million), China (US$ 780 million), Chile (US$ 530 million), the Netherlands (US$ 290 million), Uruguay (US$ 250 million), and Spain (US$ 210 million).

When differentiated by sectors, Manufactures of Agricultural Origin (MOA) once again topped sales after exceeding US$ 2.485 billion, an increase of 17% year-on-year for that period. In second place were Primary Products (PP) with shipments worth over US$ 2.276 billion, an increase of 9% year-on-year. This was followed by Manufactures of Industrial Origin (MOI) with more than US$ 1.709 million (+9% year-on-year). Meanwhile, Fuels and Energy (F&E) grew the most in percentage terms, up 167% over the same period of 2021.

May was the most outstanding month of the semester. Shipments exceeded US$ 1.250 billion, 19% of total exports in the first half of the year. May's trade represented a 17% yoy increase and 38% compared to the same month of 2019.

The sector ended the first half of 2022 with a strong expansion. Sales of Argentine products abroad totaled US$ 44.377 billion, a 25.5% yoy increase that resulted in the highest ever values for that period, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC).