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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Chile
Index
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A worker pauses while unloading grapes at a packing shed in
Mayoco, a farming community near Santiago.
Courtesy Inter-American Development Bank
As a result of land appropriations from 1970 to 1973,
extensive
disinvestment occurred in the agricultural sector. The
Pinochet
government reversed this trend by returning lands to
previous
owners and providing incentives for increased exports.
Although
Chile was basically a net importer of agricultural goods
from 1960
to 1970, by 1991 agricultural exports, as well as forestry
and
fishing exports, were becoming increasingly important in
the
economy. Whereas in 1970 Chile exported US$33 million in
agriculture, forestry, and fishing products, by 1991 the
figure had
jumped to US$1.2 billion. This figure excluded those
manufactured
goods based on the products of the agriculture, livestock,
and
forestry sectors.
In the 1989-91 period, exports of fresh fruits became
increasingly important (see
table 24, Appendix). Data also
indicate
that production of grapes, pears, lemons, and peaches was
expanding
rapidly (see
table 25, Appendix). The country's virtual
monopoly on
grape exports during the Northern Hemisphere's winter
season was
likely to disappear as other potential giants, such as
Argentina,
began to compete. The fruit-packing industry also expanded
greatly,
providing seasonal employment to thousands of workers in
its
refrigerated plants. Although fruit production takes place
in small
to medium-size landholdings, fruit-packing plants are very
large
operations. Indeed, six of the major fruit-packing plants
generated
more than half of all the boxes exported.
Chile's success in export agriculture was not confined
to
fruits. Also increasing significantly was production of
more
traditional crops, many of which were devoted primarily to
domestic
consumption. Much of the increased agricultural production
in the
country was the result of rapidly improving yields and
higher
productivity (see
table 26, Appendix). These figures are
particularly impressive if compared with historical data.
For
example, in the 1969-70 agricultural year, wheat's yield
was 12.5
quintals per hectare, that of corn was 32.4 tons per
hectare, and
that of potatoes was 95.4 tons per hectare. By 1990-91
these yields
had increased to 34.1 quintals of wheat per hectare, 83.9
quintals
of corn per hectare, and 142.2 quintals of potatoes per
hectare.
Data as of March 1994
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