As India and Argentina seek to deepen their economic engagement amid shifting global trade dynamics, agriculture has emerged as one of the most strategically important pillars of the bilateral relationship.
With annual trade between the two countries reaching nearly $6.34 billion, India today stands as Argentina’s fifth-largest trading partner and one of the most significant destinations for its agricultural exports.
Vegetable oils — particularly soybean and sunflower oil — continue to dominate India’s imports from Argentina, alongside products such as gold, leather, cereals, and pulses. At a time when food security, supply chain resilience, and agricultural productivity are becoming central geopolitical concerns, both countries are exploring new avenues to diversify and expand their trade partnership.
Against this backdrop, Augustin Tejeda Rodriguez, Additional Secretary for Agri-Food Trade & International Insertion, Argentina, is currently visiting India as part of a high-level delegation engaged in discussions with Indian ministries, regulators, and industry stakeholders to strengthen bilateral agricultural trade and cooperation.
In this conversation with Anoop Verma, Rodriguez discusses Argentina’s sweeping economic reforms under President Javier Milei, the country’s push toward deregulation and global market integration, the future potential of India-Argentina agricultural trade, and the broader strategic logic driving cooperation between the two nations in an increasingly uncertain global economy.
Edited excerpts:
Argentina is currently undertaking major economic reforms under President Javier Milei. How are these reforms influencing the country’s agricultural trade strategy and international economic engagement?
Argentina is undergoing a very significant transformation in its economic, agricultural, and trade policies. Over the last two years, we have implemented an ambitious agenda focused on openness, deregulation, and deeper integration with the global economy. Our priorities are to stabilise the macroeconomy, create conditions for sustainable growth, reduce distortions, simplify regulations, and generate better opportunities for investment and trade.We have eliminated more than 1,050 unnecessary regulations that were negatively affecting production and commerce. Export restrictions and import licences have been removed, tariffs have been reduced, and we are also lowering taxes, particularly the most distortionary ones such as export duties. In the case of grains and related products, export taxes have been reduced by more than 30 percent. This is creating stronger incentives for farmers to expand cultivation, improve productivity, and increase exports.
The results have been extremely positive. Inflation is falling, the economy is recovering, and agricultural production and exports are reaching record levels. Throughout 2025 and the first half of 2026, Argentina has consistently achieved record export volumes, particularly in the agri-food sector. We are witnessing record harvests and record exports.
At the same time, we are pursuing an ambitious agenda of international negotiations and market access expansion. India plays a central role in this strategy because it is one of Argentina’s most important trading partners and the third-largest destination for Argentine agri-industrial exports.
India and Argentina already share a substantial agricultural trade relationship. What opportunities do you see for expanding and diversifying this partnership further?
There is enormous untapped potential in the India-Argentina agricultural relationship because our economies are highly complementary. While trade volumes are increasing, Argentine exports to India remain heavily concentrated in just two products — soybean oil and sunflower oil — which together account for more than 90 percent of our exports to India.
Our objective is to diversify this basket and secure market access for several other products where Argentina has strong production capabilities and India has growing demand. We want to position Argentina as a reliable, secure, and sustainable supplier that can contribute meaningfully to India’s food security. Currently, we are engaged in discussions with Indian authorities regarding market access for Argentinean products and we are also working on Indian priorities, such as providing access for Indian dairy products, grapes, onions, and potatoes in the Argentine market.
This relationship must evolve beyond a narrow commodity framework into a broader and more diversified agri-food partnership.
Bilateral trade between India and Argentina is estimated at nearly $5 billion. How do you assess the growth potential over the next five years?
I believe the potential is very significant. In edible oils alone, there remains considerable room for Argentina to increase its presence in the Indian market. Global supply patterns are also changing because some competing producers are diverting larger quantities toward biofuel mandates, thereby reducing export availability for countries like India.
But the real reason for our optimism is that Argentina itself has changed. With this new policy framework, we expect a major increase in soybean and sunflower production, which will naturally expand our exports of soybean oil, sunflower oil, and soybean meal.
Currently, Argentina produces about 50 million tonnes of soybeans, although we possess crushing capacity for around 70 million tonnes. We had achieved those production levels nearly a decade ago, and our goal now is to return to that peak and move beyond it. Argentine farmers are highly innovative, competitive, and technologically advanced. When you create better incentives and reduce taxes, they respond with higher productivity. That is already happening across multiple agricultural value chains.
During this visit, we have held meetings with Indian importers who are actively looking for Argentine agri-food products. Therefore, we are very optimistic that trade can expand substantially in the coming years, while simultaneously opening more opportunities for Indian exports and investments in Argentina.
Argentina’s economic philosophy under President Milei is strongly pro-market and libertarian at a time when many countries are moving toward protectionism. How do you see this shaping Argentina’s trade relationships globally?
Argentina’s mandate is very clear. While much of the world is experiencing growing protectionism, trade tensions, and supply chain disruptions, Argentina is moving in the opposite direction. We are committed to openness, deregulation, and facilitating business and investment.
Our objective is straightforward: we want Argentina to become one of the freest economies in the world in terms of trade and investment. We will continue on this path regardless of what other countries decide to do. President Milei is implementing what he promised during his campaign. In today’s political environment, that is not always common. His administration strongly believes that economic freedom, deregulation, and open markets are essential for growth and competitiveness.
India’s agricultural structure is very different because a large proportion of the population depends on farming for employment and livelihoods. In that context, what kind of collaboration is realistically possible between India and Argentina?
We fully understand India’s agricultural sensitivities and structural realities. That is why our approach is not limited only to trade. We are equally focused on cooperation, technology exchange, and long-term collaboration.
Argentina has considerable expertise in areas such as biotechnology, gene editing, conservation agriculture, and livestock disease management, including foot-and-mouth disease control. We believe there are meaningful opportunities for cooperation in these areas. For example, Argentina has extensive experience in the adoption and regulation of agricultural biotechnology and productivity-enhancing technologies. We are willing to share this expertise with Indian institutions and farmers to help improve productivity and efficiency.
Last year, after many years, the second meeting of the India-Argentina Joint Committee on Agriculture was held in Buenos Aires. Representatives from Indian ministries participated, and both sides agreed upon a roadmap for cooperation in multiple sectors. Our current visit is aimed at advancing those agreements, accelerating collaboration projects, and moving forward on market access negotiations. We want this partnership to be based on both trade and technological cooperation.
How has your experience been during this visit to India, particularly in terms of engagement with Indian ministries and institutions?
Our experience has been positive. This is the fourth mission from Argentina’s Secretariat of Agriculture to India in the last two years, which itself reflects the priority we attach to this relationship.
We have had constructive meetings with Indian authorities and reached good understandings. Of course, we would like some processes to move faster because, in many cases, the technical work for reciprocal market access has already been completed. This applies not only to Argentine products entering India, but also Indian products entering Argentina. Both sides have invested significant time and institutional effort into these negotiations, and we believe we are now very close to achieving meaningful outcomes. We hope that this year we will be able to announce important progress that benefits both countries.
India is a strategic partner for Argentina — not only because of current trade volumes, but because of the long-term potential of this relationship in an increasingly uncertain global environment.
