阿根廷農產品出口發展研究(1990-2004)

Abstract

In the history of economic development, the importance of agriculture must not be ignored because it could be the root of any economic activity. Due to its position and sensitiveness, this sector is always highly protected, which results the disorder of international agricultural trade and some potential trade wars in the last half of 20 century. This problem was partly resolved after the GATT Uruguay Round Negotiation in which the agricultural trade liberalization and subsidies were discussed. Under the negotiation, Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture(URAA) was enacted in 1994, which was the special rule of international agricultural trade. Argentina’s agricultural export in 1990s benefited by URAA, nevertheless, the fundamental cause of the export jump was the series of the economic reforms realized in 1990s. The economic reform not only stimulated the commodities production, especially soybeans products, but also created an excellent condition for the export. In that period, the export to the world and some specific destinations, as European Union and China, increased dramatically. Beside the economic reforms, the establishment of Mercosur also positively affected the Argentina’s agricultural export. Now, the economic integration of majority of South American countries is in process, as a result, the growth of Argentina’s export is highly expected. However, the export was not expanding all the time in this period. In the end of 1990s, the economic situation in South America was getting worse, and the world economic recession in the beginning of this century seriously influenced Argentina. In the end of 2001, Argentina encountered economic and financial crisis, and the whole country lapsed into chaos. During those years, the export decreased year by year. This situation did not change until 2003, and since 2004, Argentina’s economy was recovering and agricultural export was getting better.