The Agricultural Sector in Argentina: Major Trends and Recent Developments

1. INTRODUCTION Historically, Argentina has been among the world leaders in the production and/or export of agricultural products. The main reason for this is that it is a country relatively sparsely populated but richly endowed with natural resources for production agriculture. According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (FAOSTAT database), in 2006 Argentina accounted for only 0.59% of the world's population, but for a much higher 2.10% of the world's total land area. Furthermore, Argentina's shares of the world's arable land and the planet's area with permanent meadows and pastures were even higher, at 2.23% and 2.96%, respectively. As shown in Table 14.1, Argentina produced 8.4% of world agricultural output and accounted for 2.9% of world agricultural trade over the period 2005-07. Such fi gures make Argentina the eighth-largest producer and the twelfth largest exporter of agricultural commodities in the world. Argentina's much smaller share of world exports (2.9%) compared to its share of world output (8.4%) is largely explained by the fact that Argentina tends to export commodities with relatively low value-added levels. Commodities for which the country is particularly relevant in world markets are soybeans and its associated products, soybean oil and soybean meal. Argentina is the top exporter of soybean oil and soybean