Thanks to the surge in oil, mining and agricultural commodity prices, Argentina currently enjoys its strongest terms of trade in its history.

This means that the ratio between Argentina’s export and import prices has reached an all-time high.

The problem is that this growth in the primary sectors is failing to spill over into the rest of the economy, particularly construction, industry and commerce. These three sectors employ 37.5% of all workers in the country, according to official data from the national statistics institute INDEC.

The contrast between record export performance and labor-intensive sectors that have failed to recover amid a still-weak domestic market is creating a combination of factors that could weigh on Milei’s electoral competitiveness in next year’s presidential election.

According to estimates by the center-right think tank Fundación Capital, the economy is expected to grow 1.9% year-on-year in 2026.

That growth,........

© Buenos Aires Herald