Argentina is ready to support India’s energy and food requirements at a time when global supply chains are under strain and geopolitical tensions are reshaping trade flows.
In an exclusive chat on StratNews Global, Argentina’s Ambassador to India, Mariano Caucino, linked the ongoing crisis in West Asia to wider structural shifts in global politics, cautioning that instability in the region is neither new nor isolated.
“There is no such thing as one conflict in the Middle East, but a number of conflicts that are overlapping,” he said, adding that Argentina has clearly backed the United States and Israel in the current standoff while maintaining its longstanding position against the Iranian regime. At the same time, he expressed hope that the situation stabilises, even if a full resolution remains distant.
For India, the immediate concern is energy security and as he pointed out, price volatility, with oil moving sharply in recent months, has exposed these vulnerabilities. “India… is dependent on importing oil, especially from the Middle East,” he noted.
In the first quarter of 2026, India has imported almost 50,000 tonnes of LPG, which is more than double its total shipments in 2025. This comes as tensions affecting the Strait of Hormuz, a route that carries a majority of India’s LPG imports, have slowed cargo movement and raised costs.
“Argentina is offering the possibility to provide energy security… not entirely, but as part of the solution,” the Ambassador said.
Despite the long distance, shipments travel nearly 20,000 km from Bahía Blanca to India’s western coast, Caucino argued that geographic remoteness also brings an advantage. Supplies from South America are less exposed to immediate geopolitical disruptions.
But agriculture remains the backbone of the relationship with an official specially posted at the embassy in Delhi.
Argentina has consolidated its position as India’s largest supplier of soybean oil and among the top suppliers of sunflower oil.
“These are two economies that are called to enhance their relationship because they are very complementary,” he observed.
He also pointed to the benefits of seasonal differences, which allow Argentina to supply crops when output cycles in India are under pressure. He suggested that easing trade restrictions could further expand volumes and help moderate prices in the Indian market.
Critical minerals are emerging as a key area of engagement. Argentina is part of the global “lithium triangle,” alongwith Bolivia and Chile, making it an important player in the energy transition supply chain.
“Argentina has a huge reserve of lithium… and Indian companies are already working there,” Caucino said, adding that cooperation could extend to copper, gold and other resources.
On the trade front, Argentina continues to engage with India through Mercosur, which has had a preferential trade agreement with India since 2004.
“There is a broad consensus that this agreement should be expanded,” Caucino noted, though he acknowledged that negotiations tend to move slowly due to the need for alignment among member countries.
India and Argentina elevated ties to a strategic partnership in 2019, and cooperation has steadily broadened since then. The conversation between the two countries is no longer limited to commodities.
