{
  "id": 9020796,
  "title": "Export boom not enough tocompensate for industry, commerce and construction drop",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/export-boom-not-enough-tocompensate-for-industry-commerce-and",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-21T21:33:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Buenos Aires Herald",
    "slug": "buenos-aires-herald",
    "url": "https://buenosairesherald.com/business/export-boom-not-enough-to-compensate-for-industry-commerce-and-construction-drop"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Argentina is experiencing its strongest terms of trade in history due to soaring oil, mining and agricultural commodity prices, but this growth in primary sectors is failing to translate into the rest of the economy, notably construction, industry and commerce. According to the national statistics institute INDEC, these three labor-intensive sectors employ 37.5% of all workers. The contrast between record export performance and stagnant labor-intensive sectors poses challenges for President Milei's electoral prospects next year. Center-right think tank Fundación Capital predicts 1.9% year-on-year growth for the economy in 2026, but they warn that this growth is largely a statistical carryover from 2025. Construction is expected to contribute little or no growth, and industry and commerce may also make minimal contributions. Construction activity has declined by 0.2% quarter-on-quarter and remains about 20% below its 2023 level. In July-August, construction sector indices and domestic cement shipments fell by 7.7% and 6.4%, respectively. The commerce sector showed \"weak momentum\" with a 0.8% quarter-on-quarter decline in the second quarter, while private consumption contracted by 2.4% quarter-on-quarter. Consumer confidence has fallen, with a cumulative decline of 9.6% for the year. Supermarkets and industries cite weak demand as the main constraint to growth, with 59% of supermarket respondents and 53% of industrial companies citing this issue. Fundación Capital cautions that economic activity in the first half of the year showed limited growth in only six out of 24 industrial divisions. Looking ahead, they project economic activity will follow a similar pattern to 2026, with the export-oriented sectors continuing to show the strongest momentum, while the recovery of sectors closely linked to consumption and investment remains uncertain.",
  "summary": "Surges in oil, agriculture and mining prices, poor performances in labor-intensive sectors cast doubts on how much the economy can grow La entrada Export boom not enough tocompensate for industry, commerce and construction drop se publicó primero en Buenos Aires Herald .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}