Argentina’s preliminary activity gauge showed a 1.7% annual contraction for August 2026, with factory and trade weakness offsetting gains in mining as President Javier Milei’s government promotes incentives to lift exports.
The National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC) said Wednesday, Oct. 21, that its Monthly Economic Activity Estimator (EMAE) rose 0.1% from July after seasonal adjustment. Its trend-cycle reading was unchanged from July. Across January through August, the estimate was 1.2% above the comparable period in 2025.
Mining and quarrying grew 11.1% year over year; electricity, gas and water rose 4.3%, while hotels and restaurants advanced 3.1%. The three industries contributed 0.6 percentage points to the annual index change. Five of the 15 sectors tracked increased, leaving 10 in decline. Manufacturing fell 3.2%, and wholesale and retail trade and repairs slid 3.5%; those two sectors together took 0.9 percentage points off the annual reading.
The government says the Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI), created under Law 27.742, is intended to draw investment from Argentina and abroad, support jobs and local production, and expand exports in fields such as energy, mining and infrastructure. On May 8, 2026, it announced a proposed Súper RIGI for additional industries and value chains. The plan would set an income-tax rate of 15%, compared with 25% under RIGI, and provide an export-duty exemption.
Argentina’s Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca del Ministerio de Economía de la Nación reported September agroindustrial exports of 11.43 million metric tons worth US$5.654 billion. Compared with a year earlier, volume increased 17% and value rose 14%. Through the first nine months, exports reached 95.73 million metric tons and US$43.206 billion, with volume up 11% and value up 13% year over year.
The export figures do not establish that the investment incentives caused August’s contraction.
INDEC’s next scheduled monthly activity estimate, covering September, is due Nov. 24, 2026.
