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Argentine Ambassador to India, Mariano Agustn Caucino, took part in the ambassadors' panel at the Bharat Agriculture Conference 2026 on Wednesday.
According to the press release the conference was organised by the India Today Group at Bharat Mandapam under the theme "Smart Kisan for Viksit Bharat". He shared the panel with the Ambassador of Israel and the Agricultural Attach of Brazil. "Trade between Argentina and India reached a record US$ 6,908 million in 2025, more than double the 2019 figure, and between January and September this year it has grown a further 10%, to US$ 5,636 million," Ambassador Caucino said, adding that "Agro-industrial products are today the backbone of this relationship. Ambassador Caucino noted that Argentina is India's largest supplier of edible oils in the 2025-26 marketing year and accounts for more than 60% of the crude soybean oil India imports. With India producing around 40% of the edible oil it consumes, he underlined Argentina's role as a reliable supplier. "Argentina is a reliable partner, far from geopolitical conflicts and with growing production. That helps Indian families cook at low and stable prices," he stated. As per the release, the Ambassador also addressed technology cooperation. He recalled that at the 4th Joint Trade Committee, held in Buenos Aires on 24 August, both countries agreed to explore cooperation on drones and smart farming. "Argentina's experience in large-scale drone spraying and monitoring complements India's drone manufacturing, which opens a new avenue for mutually beneficial collaboration," he said. He also referred to the contribution that no-till farming (sowing directly over the residue of the previous crop, without ploughing), silo bags (airtight plastic bags for storing grain on the farm itself) and precision agriculture could make to productivity, and to the complementarity between India, the world's largest tractor manufacturer, and Argentina's agricultural machinery industry, in both cases adapted to each country's way of farming. "Argentine purchases of Indian agricultural machinery, mainly tractors, grew 34% between 2019 and 2025," he pointed out. Caucino stated that the bilateral link between the two countries is destined to continue expanding to new heights. Currently India has become Argentinas sixth largest economic partner and this shows the deep complementarity of our economies. Recently, foreign minister Dr Jaishankar said that India was facing challenging times in energy, food, fertilizers and finances, and it is in this sense that India is exploring and engaging reliable partners all around the world, he explained. Argentina is contributing to Indias food security, having become Indias largest provider of edible oils and we are already cooperating in the key sector of Mining, Caucino stated. The Argentine ambassador stated this relationship has evolved fundamentally in the last seven or eight years since those shared values were accompanied by a convergence of our national interests. This is fundamentally based on the grounds of our strong economic complementarity, Caucino said. Finally, Ambassador Caucino said that the agricultural relationship can diversify in both directions through the market openings both governments are negotiating: Argentine citrus, walnuts, blueberries, lentils and dairy, and Indian onions, grapes, potatoes and bananas. "Argentina is ready to open these markets to Indian farmers, but we need the Indian government to take the same decision for our products" he stated. (ANI)
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