COUNTRY ANALYSIS OF

ARGENTINA




Submitted by:
Promita majumd

Population: 39.9 million
GDP: US$328 billion
GDP per Capita: US$8,240
Agriculture as % GDP: 10%
Agricultural GDP: US$32.8 billion
% employed in agriculture: 1%
Arable Land (AL): 33.2 million hectares
Ratio of AL/Population*: 3.3
*Ratio: % global arable land / % global population
Major crops:
Soybean Sugarcane Wheat
Maize Sunflower seed
Commercialized Biotech Crops:

Argentina has achieved a marked improvement in its promotion of
biotech crops and has pursued their timely regulation aggressively.
National Advisory Committee on Ag Biotech (CONABIA) now has an
impressive stable of products for evaluation from both the public
and private sector.
Argentinian scientists have developed a drought tolerant biotech sugarcane and are exploring
cooperation to further develop this product with Brazil, which is also working on drought tolerant
sugarcane. The product from this joint program could be ready by 2013 and approved for production by
2017. Such a product would allow Argentina to increase sugarcane hectarage from the current 350,000
hectares to 5 million hectares in the future.




Introduction


Argentina has a population of 33 Million with an ethnic composition of 85 percent European
descent, primarily Spanish or Italian. Indians, mestizos (people of mixed Indian and Spanish
ancestry), and blacks together make up the remaining 15 percent. The Republic of Argentina is a
democracy for now, but has had a long history of military power.
Spanish is the official language, although many people speak English, Italian, or other languages.
Argentine Spanish is heavily influenced by Italian and is unlike Spanish spoken anywhere in
Latin America. Church and state are officially separate, but about 90 percent of the population
considers itself Roman Catholic. Jews and Protestants account for 2 percent each.

The country analysis report on Argentina provides a wide array of analytical inputs to analyze
the countrys performance, and the objective is to help the reader to make business decisions and
prepare for the future. The report on Argentina analyzes the political, economic, social,
technological, legal and environmental (PESTLE) structure of Argentina. The report provides a
holistic view of Argentina from historical, current and future perspective. Insightful analysis on
critical current and future issues is presented through detailed SCPT (strengths, challenges,
prospects and threats /risks) analysis for each of the PESTLE segments. In addition, the PESTLE
segments are supplemented with relevant quantitative data to support trend analysis. The
PESTLE country analysis report series provides an in-depth analysis of 50 major countries.





























Features
Understanding gained from the country analysis report on Argentina can be used to plan
business investments or market entry apart from a holistic view of the country.
Political section on Argentina provides inputs about the political system, key figures in
the country, and governance indicators.
Economic section on Argentina outlines the economic story of the country to provide a
balanced assessment on core macro-economic issues.
Social section on Argentina enables understanding of customer demographics through the
income distribution, rural-urban segmentation and centers of affluence, healthcare and
educational scenario in the country.
Technological section on Argentina provides strategic inputs on information
communications and technology, technological laws and policies, technological gaps,
patents data and relevant laws.
Legal section on Argentina provides information about the legal structure, corporate
laws, business set-up procedures and the tax regime.
Environmental section provides information on environmental policies in Argentina and
the performance in terms of important environmental indicators.
















PESTLE analysis of Argentina identifies issues that affect the countrys performance through
the prism of current strengths (strengths), current challenges (weaknesses), future prospects
(opportunities) and future risks (threats).

The political landscape discusses the evolution of the political scenario in Argentina in different
periods. The economic, social, foreign and defense policies are considered in the political
landscape section. It also discusses the performance of the country as per World Bank
Governance Indicators.

The economic landscape describes the evolution of the economy of Argentina in different
periods. It also examines the countrys performance in terms of GDP growth, composition by
sector (agriculture, industry and services), fiscal situation, international investment position,
monetary situation, credit disbursement, banking sector and employment. The economic
landscape also explains the financial system in the country, especially with regard to financial
authorities/regulators.

The social landscape covers the demographics, education and healthcare scenario in Argentina.
The social welfare policies of the government along with the countrys performance in terms of
healthcare, income distribution and education are also provided.

The technological landscape discusses the structure and policies in terms of Intellectual
property, research & development, technology agreements/pacts; and policies related to the
promotion of technology in Argentina.

The legal landscape examines the structure of the judicial system, legislation affecting
businesses, tax regulations, labor laws, trade regulations and corporate governance in Argentina.

The environmental landscape in Argentina discusses the environmental regulations and policies
of the country. The performance of the country in terms of in terms of environmental indicators
and impact of environmental policies is also examined.
The Argentine economy embarked upon a robust recovery path after the severe 2001-02
economic crisis, recording average growth of 8.5% between 2003 and 2008. However, in 2009
the Argentinean economy grew by just 0.9%. The economy experienced several challenges in
terms of maintaining growth, as well as other issues such as capacity constraints, the need to
sustain investment in primary infrastructure, and potential energy shortages in the face of high
growth. The government maintained energy prices below international market prices, which
continued to be a cause for concern. However, due to continued government efforts in the form
of both stimulus packages and consolidation, the economy posted growth of 9.2% in 2010. This
economic rebound was fueled by growth in domestic consumption, external demand, and
commodity price improvements.
Argentina is similar to many of the Latin American countries in analysis of the Hofstede
Dimensions (see Latin America Hofstede Graph below). In reviewing the data, there appears to
be a correlation between Argentinas culture and religion, as explained below.
The high Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) ranking of 86 indicates the societys low level of
tolerance for uncertainty. In an effort to minimize or reduce this level of uncertainty, strict rules,
laws, policies, and regulations are adopted and implemented. The ultimate goal of this population
is to control everything in order to eliminate or avoid the unexpected. As a result of this high
Uncertainty Avoidance characteristic, the society does not readily accept change and is very risk
adverse.
In many of the Latin American countries, including Argentina, the population is predominantly
Catholic (see Religions Graph below). The combination of Catholicism and the cultural
dimensions shown in the Hofstede Graph above, reinforce a philosophy predicated in the belief
that there is an absolute Truth. As Geert Hofstede explains about peoples with a high
Uncertainty Avoidance Index, their attitude is, There can only be one Truth and we have it.
Based on our studies and data, the large majority of predominantly Catholic countries (those with
Uncertainty Avoidance as their highest ranking Dimension) have a low tolerance for ambiguity.
This creates a highly rule-oriented society that institutes laws, rules, regulations, and controls in
order to reduce the amount of uncertainty within the population
Religion in Argentina


In a country that has over 50% of its population practicing the Catholic religion, we found the
primary correlating Hofstede Dimension to be Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI). There were only 2
countries out of 23 that did not follow this correlation, they were Ireland and the Philippines.


Argentina Communications
Handshaking common when meeting for the first time
Titles, especially among the elderly, are very important. Address a person directly by using his or
her title only. A Ph.D or a physician is called Doctor. Teachers prefer the title Profesor,
engineers go by Ingeniero, architects are Arquitecto, and lawyers are Abogado. Persons who do
not have professional titles should be addressed as Mr., Mrs., or Miss, plus their surnames. In
Spanish these are:
Mr. = Senor
Mrs. = Senora
Miss = Senorita
Most Hispanics have two surnames: one from their father, which is listed first, followed by one
from their mother. Only the fathers surname is used when addressing someone
Italian and German second and third languages
Good conversation topics: soccer, history, culture, home and children, opera
Bad conversation topics: the Peron years, religion, Falkland Islands conflict











Doing Business in Argentina

Argentines are tough negotiators. Concessions will not come quickly or easily. Good
relationships with counterparts will shorten negotiations.
Contracts are lengthy and detailed. A contract is not final until all of its elements are
signed. Any portion can be re-negotiated. Get everything in writing.
An Argentine contact is essential to wading through government bureaucracy.
Be punctual for business appointments, but prepare to wait thirty minutes for your
counterpart, especially if you are meeting an important person.
The pace of business in Argentina is slower than in the United States. A meeting that is
going well could last much longer than intended, even if it means postponing the next
engagement.
Personal relationships are important and must be developed before business is done.
Argentines often need several meetings and extensive discussion to make deals.
Decisions are made at the top. Try to arrange meeting with high-level personnel.
Guests at a meeting are greeted and escorted to their chairs. The visiting senior executive
is seated opposite the Argentine senior executive.
During business meetings, sustain a relaxed manner, maintain eye contact and restrict the
use of gestures. Dont take a hard sell approach.
Be prepared for a certain amount of small talk before getting down to business.
Make appointments through a high-level person. Your Argentine contact can help with
this.
Confirm meetings one week in advance.



http://eeas.europa.eu/argentina/csp/07_13_en.pdf