• The second joint working group meeting on agriculture between India and Argentina was held on July 16. 

• Both sides underscored the significance of the meeting as a key milestone in deepening bilateral cooperation in the fields of agriculture and allied sectors.

• Indian co-chair Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, highlighted that Argentina is a crucial partner for India. 

• He emphasized that opportunity exists in areas such as agricultural mechanisation, pest control, climate-resilient agriculture, and joint research.

• Both sides discussed key issues related to cooperation in horticulture, value chain of oilseed and pulses cultivation, mechanisation, precision agriculture, carbon credit for farmers, biopesticide, locust control & management, new breeding technologies and market access among other issues.

• The first meeting of the joint working group on agricultural cooperation was held virtually on July 1, 2020. 

India-Argentina Bilateral Relations

• India, Argentina marked 75 years of their diplomatic relationship on February 3, 2024. 

• The multi-faceted relations between the two countries have strengthened over the years with constructive cooperation and engagements in political, economic, defence, mining, agriculture, oil & gas, nuclear energy, cultural and scientific & technological areas. 

• India opened a Trade Commission in Buenos Aires in 1943, which was later converted into one of the first embassies of India in South America, in 1949. 

• Argentina had established a Consulate in Kolkata in the 1920s, which was shifted to Delhi as an embassy in 1950.

• India-Argentina diplomatic relations were elevated to the level of ‘Strategic Partnership’ in February 2019. 

• India-Argentina bilateral trade more than doubled in three years from 2019 to 2022, peaking at $6.4 billion in 2022. 

• Argentina is one of the primary suppliers of edible oils, especially soybean oil, to India.

• However, due to the severe drought in Argentina, compounded by the resulting scarcity of foreign exchange, India-Argentina bilateral trade faced significant challenges in 2023 and settled at $3.9 billion, a decline of 39 per cent. 

• In 2024, with improved weather conditions and a much more stable economy under the new government, trade regained its momentum, rising by 33 per cent to $5.2 billion. 

• Indo-Argentine trade experienced a significant resurgence in bilateral trade and strategic cooperation during the first quadrimester of 2025, registering an impressive growth of 53.9 per cent, with total trade valued at $2,055.14 million. 

• India is ranked as Argentina’s fourth-largest trading partner and export destination.

• Major items of India’s exports to Argentina include petroleum oils, agro chemicals, yarn-fabric-madeups, organic chemicals, bulk drugs and two-wheelers. 

• Major items of India’s imports from Argentina include vegetable oils (soybean and sunflower), finished leather, cereals, residual chemicals and allied products and pulses. 

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)