Paraguay exports to Argentina jump 51% on soybean sales
Paraguay’s exports to Argentina reached $2.32 billion in January-May, led by soybeans as Argentina took 43.2% of total shipments.
Sandra Noguera of Market Data said Paraguayan exports to Argentina reached $2.32 billion in January-May 2026, up 51.1%, with soybeans driving the surge. Argentina accounted for 43.2% of Paraguay’s total exports in the period, keeping the neighboring market as Paraguay’s dominant outlet.
The flow remains heavily concentrated in oilseeds. Trading Economics, citing UN Comtrade, said Paraguay shipped $3.28 billion to Argentina in 2025, with oilseeds the largest export category at $1.91 billion. The Observatory of Economic Complexity said Argentina was already the top destination for Paraguayan soybeans in 2024, at $2.74 billion, underscoring how tightly the bilateral trade is tied to the grain complex.
That concentration has a biofuels angle as well. Paraguay’s Cámara Paraguaya de Procesadores de Oleaginosas y Cereales, known as CAPPRO, said the country’s biodiesel sector has installed capacity above 2.4 billion liters a year but was operating at about 30% of capacity in late 2025. The group said biodiesel could save the farm sector about US$300 million and help transform Paraguay’s energy matrix, while also noting that much of the soybean oil produced in Paraguay is exported to be turned into biodiesel in other countries.
The Argentine side of the trade still matters for crush demand. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service said imported soybeans, primarily from Paraguay, accounted for 13.2% of Argentina’s total crush during April-November in the referenced period. USDA’s April 2026 Argentina oilseeds outlook said soybean oil production and exports were forecast to remain largely unchanged in MY2026/27, suggesting a steady backdrop for imported beans even as margins soften.
Banco Central del Paraguay says its COMEX foreign-trade reports break exports down by product, processing level and customs regime, with a one-month lag. For Paraguay’s soybean complex, the latest trade surge points to an export model still built around Argentine demand, with only limited domestic biodiesel take-up despite spare plant capacity.
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