A screenshot photo of the article published on La Nacion, Argentina's leading daily. (Source: VNA)

La Nacion, Argentina's leading daily, on February 22 reported that Vietnam is the top importer of corn and soybean meal from the Latin American country in 2024, with over 6 million tonnes of corn and 3.4 million tonnes of soybean meal.

The newspaper cited statistics from the Rosario Grain Exchange (BCR), which is Argentina's largest agricultural exchange, indicating that Vietnam has become a key agricultural trade partner for the country.

According to BCR, over the past six years, Argentina, a leading agricultural producer globally, has exported 536 million tonnes of grains valued at 189 billion USD. From 2019 to 2024, except for the drought-affected year of 2023, Argentina exported nearly 96 million tonnes of grains on average each year. More than half of these were shipped to Asia, with nearly a quarter to Southeast Asia.

The article said Southeast Asia has experienced rapid economic growth, and the food consumption patterns in the region are very diverse. Southeast Asia has become a strategic market for the agricultural sector, accounting for 28% of global soybean meal trade, 10% of global pork consumption, and 9% of poultry consumption. In the Southeast Asian market, Vietnam makes up half of Argentina's corn and soybean meal exports to the region.

According to La Nacion, Southeast Asia has become an important destination for Argentinian agricultural products over the past decade. Currently, Argentina's exports to Asia have increased 2.7 times since 2009, while those to Southeast Asia have quadrupled.

The region's economic growth plays a decisive role in this process. From 2009 to 2023, Vietnam's GDP per capita has doubled, while Indonesia and the Philippines have seen increases of over 60%. The average growth rate in Southeast Asia is 3.2% per year, significantly surpassing the global average of 2.1%. Additionally, the region’s Human Development Index (HDI) has also improved markedly, with seven countries achieving high development levels and four countries reaching very high development levels in 2022.

The article concluded that the demand for animal feed in Southeast Asia is expected to rise. The region will account for 20% of global corn import market share and 70% of soybean meal import market share. Vietnam will continue to be a major trade partner for Argentinian agriculture, projected to import an additional 6 million tonnes of corn and 1.7 million tones of soybean meal by 2034, representing 7% of global corn imports and 9% of global soybean meal imports.