General

Argentina's economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but the industrial and service sectors have also grown in importance in recent years. Livestock (cattle and sheep) and grains have long been the bulwark of its wealth; its cattle herds are among the world's finest. As an exporter of wheat, corn, flax, oats, beef, mutton, hides and wool, Argentina rivals the United States, Canada and Australia. Its other agricultural products include oilseeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, and tobacco. Argentina is the world's largest source of tannin and linseed oil. The Pampas is the nation's chief agricultural area; however, since the 1930s there has been a great rise in production in other areas, especially in the oases of the Monte and the irrigated valleys of North Patagonia.

Even though Argentina is the world's fourth largest wine-producing country, a great majority of the wine is inexpensive and ordinary. Most of Argentina's wine is consumed within the country, which also happens to have one of the higher per capita consumption rates. The largest growing region is in the Mendoza province, which produces 70 to 75 percent of Argentina's wine and 85 percent of its quality wine. Mendoza has evolved the furthest in the development of recognised subregions, which include Luján de Cuyo, Maipú, San Rafael, and Uco Valley (around the village of Tupungato). Other growing regions include Agrelo, Catamaraca, Jujuy, La Rioja, Neuguén, Rio Negro, San Juan, and Salta. San Juan, the second most productive region, has three major subregions-the valley areas of Tulum, Ullum, and Zonda. A majority of the growing areas are not far from the Andes Mountains and benefit from irrigation water from melting snow. Most of Argentina's better wines come from the high, cool mountainous areas, with red wine comprising the majority. The most widely planted red-grape variety is Criolla (mission), followed by malbec. The latter is the recognised star of the red-grape varieties. It's the mostly widely planted quality grape here and produces rich, deep-colored wines.

There are a variety of other red grapes planted in Argentina including barbera, bonarda, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, nebbiolo, pinot noir, sangiovese, syrah and tempranillo. The most popular white varieties (used mostly for fortified wines) are palomino Torrontes, and pedro ximénez. There is also acreage planted with chardonnay, chenin blanc, sémillon and sauvignon blanc most of which go into higher-quality white wines, particularly from the Rio Negro area.

Although Argentina has a variety of minerals, they are of local importance and are not completely adequate to support the country's industries. Domestic oil and gas production has made the nation self-sufficient in energy; pipelines connect the oil and gas fields with Buenos Aires and other major refining centres. Argentina also exploits its ample hydroelectric resources. The large coal field of South Patagonia has low-grade coal.

Food processing (in particular meatpacking, flour milling, and canning) is the chief manufacturing industry; motor vehicles, textiles, chemicals, petrochemicals, and steel are also major products. Argentina's principal imports are machinery, motor vehicles, chemicals, metals, plastics, and other manufactured goods. The chief trading partners are Brazil, the United States, China and Chile. Argentina is a member of Mercosur.