Argentina’s economy grew by 4.4% in 2025, according to a report by the government’s statistics bureau, the INDEC. The increase was mostly driven by two sectors — agriculture and financial intermediation. Compared with December 2024, eleven sectors of the economic activity grew and four fell. The economy increased by 3.5% in December when compared to the same month in 2024. Agriculture, livestock, hunting, and forestry posted the largest year-on-year increase, 32.2%, driven by the highest wheat production recorded in the entire statistical series and a record-high average yield. The second-highest positive impact in the index came from financial intermediation, which increased by 14.1%. Other sectors showing significant increases were fishing, energy, and mining. The sector that saw the biggest drop was the manufacturing industry, which fell by 3.9% in December 2025, compared to the same period the previous year. It was followed by wholesale, retail trade, and repairs, which contracted by 1.3%. Recent figures have shown that the manufacturing sector is in a dire situation. Industries in crisis The latest report by the INDEC says that the industry was working at 53.8% of its capacity in December. The sectors that are seeing the worst part are the automotive, plastic, and textile industries, which are only operating at 31.2%, 33.4%, and 35.2% of their potential. Florencia Fiorentin, chief economist at the Epyca consulting firm, said that last week’s high-profile shutdown of an 86-year-old tire manufacturer, Fate, was not an isolated case. “A lot of companies are shutting down, especially in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area,” said Fiorentin. “Basically, a drop in demand is combined with import liberalization — thus, companies are not selling products,” she added.



