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Investments in R&D and innovation have been on the rise in Argentina, driven largely by greater government commitment to sector development. It was to this end that the Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation was created in 2007. Public investment growth has been repaid in terms of institutional strengthening and increased private sector interest, resulting in improved innovation and global competitiveness rankings. Between 2006 and 2015 spending on public research and development increased by some 279% at current prices, from roughly $1.1m to $4m. As Argentina’s economy continues to open up, greater international exposure will require commensurately increasing levels of R&D and innovation in order to achieve a greater degree of competitiveness. This chapter contains interviews with Hugo Sigman, CEO, Grupo Insud; and Martín Migoya, CEO, Globant.

No area of the economy has felt the turnaround from the election of President Mauricio Macri more sharply than the agriculture sector. The country’s vast agricultural plains, known as the pampa húmeda, are one of the world’s great breadbaskets, but years of state intervention in the sector have diminished crop diversity and led to falling exports. However, the new government’s pro-market stance opens the door for Argentina to again be a major grain exporter. Major infrastructure upgrades will help to expand the agricultural frontier and cut transport costs, while an eventual decline in inflation and stabilisation of the exchange rate could allow farmers to deploy capital where it is needed most. Just as Argentine agriculture proved it was at the cutting edge of technology in the 1990s, it is now showing potential to lead the way in the 2020s. This chapter features interviews with Luis Miguel Etchevehere, Minister of Agro-industry; and Gustavo Grobocopatel, Chairman, Grupo Los Grobo.

Located in the centre of the country and imbued with a rich history and the benefits of a productive climate and soil, the province of Córdoba has developed a multi-pronged economy that is resilient to external shocks. This includes an agriculture sector undergoing modernisation, a value-added food industry and an automotive manufacturing segment that significantly contributes to economic growth and local employment. Posting a GDP per capita of $9288 in 2017, Córdoba is among the top provincial contributors to national GDP, at 7.9%. Córdoba has the challenge of remaining one of the most competitive regions in South America. Doing so will necessitate developing infrastructure for further expansion, sustaining business conditions so companies can thrive, empowering the workforce to support future growth and providing good social conditions for inhabitants of the province. This chapter features an interview with Juan Schiaretti, Governor of Córdoba.

Accounting for roughly 16.7% of Argentina’s GDP, manufacturing was the largest contributor to the economy in 2017. Industrial output is highly diversified within the sector. In 2017 food and beverage processing comprised 30.9% of gross production value. This was followed by chemicals manufacturing (13.6%); motor vehicle and auto parts manufacturing (7.4%); petroleum refining and nuclear fuel (6.4%); and base metals production (5.7%). While estimates vary, the government predicts that construction, agriculture and energy production, along with the continuation of liberalising reforms, will encourage economic growth in 2018. After the manufacturing industry, the wholesale, retail and repairs sector is the second-largest component of Argentine GDP, contributing 13% in 2017. Looking forward, retail will witness a moderate growth tied to the improving performance of the economy and the reconfiguration of financial policies. This chapter includes interviews with Dante Sica, Minister of Production; and Miguel Acevedo, President, Argentine Industrial Union.

In 2016 the mining sector contributed 1% of Argentina’s GDP, or around $5.9bn. Of this total, 40% came from the sale of industrial rocks and minerals containing calcium, salt and dolomite. The main export destinations are Argentina’s southern cone neighbours, with Chile accounting for 68% of exports, followed by Brazil (19%) and Uruguay (6%). Nearly two-thirds of the area in Argentina with mining potential remain unstaked, leaving investment opportunities in a number of provinces. While private sector spending on exploration more than doubled from $140m in 2016 to $300m in 2017, around $400m of annual investment is expected to be required to fully explore these six mining regions in the coming years. This chapter contains an interview with David Guerrero, CEO, Galaxy Lithium.

Over the last 20 years the fortune of the Argentine economy has been closely tied to one commodity: natural gas. In the 1990s, the construction of combined-cycle power stations allowed Argentina to produce plentiful and inexpensive energy from its conventional gas fields in the south and east. Industry forecasts were so optimistic that several trans-Andean pipelines to Chile were constructed, but after a brief period as an exporter in the early 2000s, Argentina returned to being a net importer of gas in 2008. Declining domestic production due to a lack of incentives, coupled with rising gas imports from neighbouring countries, placed the energy sector at the centre of Argentina’s economic woes throughout the 2010s; however, the sector could also hold the key to the country’s revival. A stable and attractive regulatory environment, combined with significant potential in the hydrocarbons, renewable energy, and thermal and hydroelectric generation segments, provide ample opportunities and security for global investors. This chapter contains interviews with Alejandro Sruoga, Secretary of Energy Policy, Maurizio Bezzeccheri, CEO, Enel Argentina; and Danny Massacese, Upstream Managing Director, Pan American Energy Group.