Ninth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

This article explores the development of agricultural commodities that originated in South America and traded around the world during the last three decades. Based on production and commercialization data for each South American country, statistical methods are used to analyze the changes in international trade and national crop production; this analysis is done for each country and the whole region. While 8% of world trade originated in South America in 1986, its share had grown to more than 12% by 2016. Brazil maintains the leading role in agricultural exports, and together with Argentina, they encompass more than 70% of the region’s export value. Significant changes in trade composition can be seen in the substantial decline in export value of stimulant crops, and the increase of oil-bearing crops; while the leading commodity group imported by South America has continued to be cereals. Meanwhile, China has increased its key-partner role within the region. The changes in trade patterns have also impacted the land use of each country. Between 1961 and 2017, the total amount of land allocated to growing crops in South America grew from 52 million hectares to almost 139 million hectares. Almost every country in the region experienced an overall growth, the only exceptions being Chile and Venezuela. The categories of crops cultivated in the region are cereals and oil-bearing crops. In the new millennium, oil-bearing crops took a leading role in the region’s production, amounting in the last years to nearly 47% of the total land used for agriculture.