Southern Cone agri‑export growth 2026

In early July Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul reported wheat sowing at 87 % of the planned 814,000 ha, with June agribusiness exports up 3.9 % year‑on‑year to US$1.24 billion despite a modest volume dip.

By late July the Southern Cone’s export momentum expanded. Uruguay’s Nueva Palmira terminal handled nearly one million tonnes of cargo in the first half of 2026, dominated by canola, barley, soy, wheat and malt barley. Argentina’s agro‑industrial exports rose 17.3 % YoY to US$26.98 billion, driven by sunflower, beef, leather, wheat and pork, with a projected 2026 value near US$34.9 billion.

New data for the first half of 2026 show Argentina’s beef shipments up more than 40 % YoY, helped by a U.S. promotion campaign and recent Chinese approvals for Argentine frigorífico export plants. The United States overtook the EU to become the second‑largest beef market after China. Total agro‑industrial shipments reached a near‑record US$27 billion, moving 52.8 million tonnes – a 9 % increase.

Entre Ríos province alone exported over US$1 billion, with wheat, corn, beef and soy leading; the latest figures put provincial exports at US$1.048 billion, a 10 % rise and 22 % volume growth to more than three million tonnes. Honey showed the strongest value gain, up 78 %. Asian markets absorbed 46 % of Entre Ríos sales, with China accounting for 18 % of total exports.

Grain volumes at Bahía Blanca rose 19 %, while Spain’s Murcia region posted a 4.8 % export increase. These trends underscore sustained strength across the Americas and Europe in early 2026.