For the first five months of the year the figures showed an economy in recovery, with exports up 13% year-on-year, at US$11.65bn and imports growing 32%, to US$4.69bn. Overall, for the January-May period the trade surplus stood at US$6.96bn against US$6.72bn in 2002.
The important thing to note about the May export data is that Argentina is no longer relying simply on strong global prices to keep the figures looking robust. In the first quarter of this year exports were up just 0.7% by volume but 11.2% by price; behind the growth in May was a 9% rise in prices and a 6% increase in volume.
Primary agricultural products such as soya and maize continue to make up the bulk of Argentina's shipments abroad, where Brazil, Chile, the US, and China are still its biggest markets.
As for imports, Indec director Jorge Scalise points out that the growth in May was against one of the lowest points in Argentina's economy last year. On a month-on-month basis imports were down slightly on April's US$1.11bn, which represented an 81% year-on-year surge.
The May growth was based on strong imports of intermediary goods, although imports of capital goods were also picking up.
Although the weak peso should allow exports to increase and bolster Argentina's external position this year, economists will not be convinced that the recovery in the real economy is sustainable until there is a surge in imports.
* Argentina's economy minister, Roberto Lavagna, has announced that if necessary the government will 'deepen' the controls of short-term capital inflows recently announced. If required, he said, he would move from the current 'flexible' régime to 'a stricter mechanism, like Chile's.'
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