The Brazilian government’s decision to withdraw its ambassador from Argentina has deepened a crisis with not only political and diplomatic implications, but one that also threatens to affect the economic relationship between the two countries — the most important in Argentina’s foreign trade.

Nowhere else in the world does Argentina have a bilateral trade relationship as weighty as the one with Brazil.

The main destination for exports

According to the latest official data from Indec, of the US$49.454 bn in goods Argentina exported in the first half of the year, US$6.255 bn — 12.6% of the total — went to Brazil.

The main products exported over that period were overland transport equipment (US$2.574 bn), cereals (US$562 million), plastics (US$386 million), base metals (US$355 million) and dairy products (US$347 million).

The neighboring country is the top export destination for Argentina’s auto sector — the country’s fourth-largest source of foreign currency — and for its wheat sector, which ranks fifth.

It is also a key market for Argentine dairy, wine,........

© Buenos Aires Herald