Cordoba Province
28% of national grain production, $11B gross production value 2024/25. Leafhopper crisis cost $1.1B. Swept for Milei despite soy tariff tensions. By 2026: testing if deregulation unleashes full agricultural capacity.
Córdoba Province functions as Argentina's agricultural powerhouse—producing 28% of national grain volume across 9.5 million hectares of sown area. The province generates 30% of Argentina's total Gross Production Value in extensive crops, with soybean ($5.463 billion) and corn ($3.56 billion) dominating, supplemented by peanuts ($885 million) and wheat ($823 million). This concentration makes Córdoba indispensable to national export revenues.
The 2024/25 agricultural campaign demonstrates both productive capacity and vulnerability. Total production exceeded 35 million tons, contributing to Argentina's record $18.9 billion trade surplus. Yet leafhopper infestations devastated corn production—26% decline from previous month, losses exceeding $1.1 billion—revealing how pest pressure can rapidly erode provincial economic output.
Milei's election attracted agricultural sector support across Córdoba and neighboring Santa Fe. La Libertad Avanza swept both provinces despite Peronism's grip on Buenos Aires Province. The agricultural sector appreciated deregulation promises, though tensions emerged: Milei initially raised soybean meal and oil export tariffs from 31% to 33% before reducing them to 22.5%. Exchange rate controls remain unreformed.
Argentina's agricultural sector grew 26% in 2024 by official statistics, with beef exports (935,261 metric tons) reaching century highs. Córdoba's contribution to this expansion positioned the province as primary beneficiary of export-oriented policy shifts.
By 2026, Córdoba's trajectory depends on whether pest management, climate adaptation, and continued export tariff reductions enable full productive potential, or whether ecological and policy constraints limit the agricultural expansion that Milei's reforms theoretically enable.