With industrial production of USD $79.8 billion in 2023 (19% of GDP), Argentina is the third-largest industrial power in Latin America after Mexico and Brazil. Argentina has a sophisticated industrial base that ranges from small and medium-sized enterprises to world-class facilities operated by domestic and multinational corporations. Rich in natural resources with a relatively skilled workforce, Argentina exported almost USD $45 billion in manufactured goods in 2023. 
Argentine industry is dominated by food processing, chemicals, motor vehicles, metals, and machinery and equipment, which combined drive 85% of gross value added in manufacturing. These sectors are either the result of Argentina’s comparative advantage in agriculture and energy or reflect government policy to promote strategic industries.
Although Argentine manufacturers have been negatively impacted by shortages of foreign currency and imported parts, as well as decreased demand due to the economic downturn that started in mid-2023, both global and domestic companies continue to invest in Argentine industry given the country's long-term commercial opportunities.
History.
Industrialization proceeded in distinct phases -- each will be covered by the following sections:
Industry pre-1870.
Proto-industry has existed in Argentina since the first human settlement approximately 14,000 years ago. During the pre-Columbian era, the indigenous peoples who inhabited Argentina, which included the Diaguita, Guaraní, Mapuche, and other groups, produced goods such as textiles, weapons, handicrafts, and canoes. Their technological sophistication was demonstrated by the use of loom weaving and the development of an elaborate ceramics industry. 
Between the 1850s and 1870s Argentina's exports of wool resulted in a period of economic boom, which was disrupted by periods of recession in wool markets first in 1866 and more severely in 1873.
Faced with the prospect of default as foreign capital dried up during the recessionary period, the Argentine president Nicolás Avellaneda chose to implement economic reforms by abandoning the gold standard and increasing duties on imported goods leading to a period of import substitution.
Emerging industry 1870-1930.
Argentina’s first wave of industrialization occurred during its "Belle Époque". Scholars estimate that Argentine industry grew by an annual rate of 5-8% between the 1870s, when modern factories were virtually non-existent in the country, and 1913.
Industry during this period was dominated by the processing of primary goods such as meatpacking and flour milling for export. These sectors were dominated by foreign, especially British, capital.
Light industry focused on low-cost goods for domestic consumption also emerged during this era. Development was stunted at first due to the small internal market, lack of capital and credit for entrepreneurs, and limited protection from imports.
Interests controlled by the Tornquist (sugar, meatpacking, metals), Devoto (paper, textiles), Bemberg (beer, sugar), Grimoldi (shoes), and Noel (candy, canned goods) families, among others.
Industry's poor performance 
Due to restricted access to capital, industrial establishments during this era consisted predominantly of artisan workshops. The manufacture of shoes and furniture was not mechanized and local industry was unable to compete with either the high quality goods imported from Europe, or the least expensive goods produced in mechanized factories in the United States. As late as 1913, the local textile industry supplied less than 20% of Argentina’s domestic consumption.
The 1920s saw Argentina move into a secondary phase of industrialization with the emergence of new sectors such as automobile assembly, rubber products, chemicals, and machinery.
By the late 1920s, there were already over 50,000 industrial establishments producing approximately 20% of GDP.
Import substitution era 1930-1975.
[This section will cover the expansion of light industry starting in the 1930s and accelerating under Peron, including Argentina's brief emergence as an exporter of manufactured goods during World War II. Heavy industry arrived in the 1960s and by 1970, Argentina had a modern industrial base that produced steel, petrochemicals, and motor vehicles. However, Argentine industry was inefficient and relied on a protected domestic market. An emphasis on non-traditional exports was successful but costly.]
Industrialization deepened with the onset of the Great Depression and accelerated during World War II due to shortages of imported goods. The most dynamic industries were consumer goods, household electric appliances, and simple machinery and metal products. The Argentine government promoted industries through import restrictions and low-cost credit (often with negative real interest rates) through the Banco Industrial. However, growth constraints emerged by the 1950s as recurring balance of payments crises created shortages of imported equipment and inputs, while entrepreneurs faced technological obsolescence and struggled to expand into more complex and higher-value products.
Argentine entrepreneurs responded to global shortages during World War II. Exports of manufactured goods increased from USD $10 million in 1938 (2% of total exports) to USD $131 million in 1946 (11% of total exports). However, this expansion was reversed due to the reconstruction of Western European industry and the shift back to civilian production in the United States. By 1949, manufactured exports had fallen to only USD $21 million, comprising 2% of total exports—the same level as before the war.
Under President Frondizi's developmentalism model, foreign capital and technology were welcomed to build capital-intensive heavy industry. The dynamic sectors during this period were motor vehicles, steel, and petrochemicals. By the early 1970s, Argentina could boast a modern, sophisticated industrial base. However, these industries were inefficient due to a lack of scale, extensive vertical integration, and excessive product differentiation. Argentine manufacturing was also characterized by underdeveloped capital goods industries and limited production of intermediate goods such as steel, aluminum, and paper.
With a saturated domestic market and the need to generate foreign currency, successive Argentine governments starting in the mid-1960s promoted industrial exports through financial incentives and managed trade agreements. Exports of manufactured goods increased from USD $250 million in 1970 (14% of total exports) to USD $1.9 billion in 1980 (23% of total exports). 
Deindustrialization 1975-2002.
[This section will cover the attempts at neoliberal reform starting under Martinez de Hoz and extending through the Menem era.]
The military regime that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983 attempted to liberalize the economy. Under Economy Minister José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz, public policy emphasized the "sinceramiento" of the economy (roughly translated as "making the economy sincere") based on comparative advantage. During the first two years of the military administration, industrial production continued to grow despite a reduction of tariffs from an average of 90% in 1976 to 50% in 1978; historians credit the improved scale and competitiveness during the export promotion era of the early 1970s. However, after 1978, rising interest rates and overvaluation of the peso as part of Martínez de Hoz's anti-inflation strategy resulted in an influx of imported goods that overwhelmed local industry.
Stabilization programs during the 1980s, designed to address hyperinflation and the foreign debt crisis, led to further deterioration of local industry. Between 1980 and 1990, industrial output decreased by 24%, and industrial employment fell by 30%. Industry experienced a "regressive restructuring" that undermined the technology, experience, and human capital accumulated during the four decades of import substitution. Yet even under these challenging conditions, key industrial subsectors continued to expand, particularly in intermediate goods and the processing of exported primary goods.
Manufacturing experienced mixed performance during the 1990s. Prior to 1998, high economic growth and regional integration under Mercosur led to a recovery in industrial production and the entry or return of global multinationals such as General Motors and Toyota into local manufacturing. However, even during this more favorable period, growth in manufacturing lagged the overall economy; in particular, the currency overvaluation under the Convertibility Plan led to a loss of competitiveness and a "hollowing out" of small-scale manufacturers. Argentine industry was pummeled by the 1995 "Tequila" crisis in 1995, the 1999 currency devaluation in Brazil, and the 2001-2002 economic crisis as the Convertibility system collapsed.
Modern Industry 2003-2024.
[This section will cover the extensive protectionism under the Kirchners that resulted in distortions such as the electronics industry in Tierra del Fuego. Industry did expand, driven by growth in consumer spending. But the outlook is uncertain today under Milei's shock therapy, a potential Mercosur-EU trade deal, and questions on what a more market-driven economic structure would look like for Argentina.]
Sectors.
Argentine industry is dominated by two major sectors – food, beverages, and tobacco; and chemicals and petroleum products – that reflect the country's comparative advantage in agriculture and energy. Combined, these two sectors drove 55% of total industrial production in 2023. A further 30% of total industrial production was generated by three additional sectors – motor vehicles; metal products; and machinery and equipment – that are considered strategic and enjoy substantial protection from global competition.
Food, beverages, and tobacco.
With Argentina ranking as one of the world's leading food suppliers, food processing is the country's dominant industrial activity. In 2023, the sector was responsible for over 30% of total industrial production and 9% of GDP. Furthermore, manufactured goods of agricultural origin drove 36% of total exports and generated a USD $10 billion trade surplus in 2023.
Soybean crushing is a high-profile export-oriented industry vertical. Due in part to tax incentives, over 80% of Argentina's soybean harvest is processed into soybean meal and oil (as opposed to being sold as unprocessed beans) vs. 60% in the United States and 35% in Brazil. As a result, Argentina is typically the world's top exporter of soybean co-products with 40-50% global market share. Over 300 oilseed crushing plants operate in the country with 80% of processing capacity located near the city of Rosario. Top players in the sector include locally-owned , Vicentín, and Molinos agro, and multinationals Bunge, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus Company, and Viterra (whose Argentine plant is the largest soybean crushing facility worldwide).
Beef processing was historically focused on exports but until the 2024 economic downturn, 85% of production was destined for the domestic market. Of the approximately 450 slaughter plants that operate in Argentina, only one third possess the required international certifications to be eligible to export and the industry is periodically subject to export bans aimed at reducing domestic beef prices. Yet Argentina remains the world's fifth largest beef exporter. The two largest beef exporting companies in Argentina are Brazilian agribusiness giants JBS and Marfrig, which together control over 30% of the country's export capacity. The largest locally-owned processors include Frigorífico Gorina, ArreBeef, Friar, EcoCarnes, and La Anónima, which combined control an additional 40% of export capacity. 
Similarly, Argentina was once a leading exporter of wheat flour but today over 90% of production is consumed domestically; at the same time, Argentina remains the world's seventh largest exporter of wheat flour. Approximately 180 flour mills operate in the country with the 10 largest facilities accounting for approximately 50% of total production; 90% of capacity is located in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Santa Fe. Over 100 of these mills were installed between 2001 and 2014, which has resulted in low capacity utilization and profitability in the sector.
Consumer food and beverage production in Argentina is predominantly oriented to the domestic market. Leading locally-owned companies in this segment are Molinos Río de la Plata, which owns a diversified portfolio of local food brands, and Grupo Arcor, a confectionery producer. Global multinationals are active in the sector and have acquired many top local brands such as Quilmes beer (owned by Ambev) and La Serenísima dairy products (owned by Danone). However, there are instances where Argentine companies have acquired foreign-owned brands, such as Molinos Río de la Plata's purchase of the Sibarita frozen pizza brand from Canadian multinational McCain Foods in September 2024. Recent investments in Argentina’s packaged foods sector include regional bottler Coca-Cola Andina’s USD $40 million reopening of a bottling plant in Mendoza in November 2024, creating 200 new direct and indirect jobs, and local pork processor Paladini’s USD $10 million expansion of its plant in Santa Fe province, also in November 2024.
Chemicals and petroleum derivatives.
Producers of chemicals, refined petroleum products, and other fuels, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and household soaps and detergents generated almost 25% of total industrial production (equivalent to 7% of GDP) in 2023. In addition, the sector generated USD $5.5 billion in exports, or 8% of the country's total in 2023.
"Chemicals and petrochemicals"
According to Argentina’s chemical and petrochemical industry association "(Cámara de la Industria Química y Petroquímica)" the 180 companies operating in the sector directly employ 64,000 workers. YPF and Pampa Energía are the top local companies in the sector; multinationals operating in Argentina include Dow Chemical, BASF, and Bunge. The sector is well represented outside of the country's dominant industrial centers with major facilities in Bahía Blanca and the provinces of San Luis, Mendoza, and Neuquén.
Argentina exported USD $4.5 billion in chemical products in