Industry in Argentina

Industry was in 2012 the largest single sector in Argentina's economy, with a 20.3% share of GDP.[2] Well-integrated into local agriculture, half of the industrial exports have rural origin.[2]

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner inaugurating a factory in Ushuaia. Firms like BlackBerry, HP and Motorola have set up plants in Tierra del Fuego, drawn by tax breaks.[1]

With a 6.5% production growth rate in 2011,[3] the diversified manufacturing sector[4] is organized around a steadily growing network of industrial parks (314 as of 2013)[5]

History

Between the 1850s and 1870s Argentina's exports of wool resulted in a period of economic boom, which was disrupted by periods of recession in wool markets first in 1866 and more severely in 1873. After 1873 tariffs were put in place to protect local industries. The manufacture of shoes and furniture was not mechanized and local industry was unable to compete with either the high quality goods imported from Europe, or the least expensive goods produced in mechanized factories in the United States.[6]

Faced with the prospect of default as foreign capital dried up during the recessionary period, the Argentine president Nicolás Avellaneda chose to implement economic reforms by abandoning the gold standard and increasing duties on imported goods leading to a period of import substitution.[6]

As immigration to Argentina increased demand followed. By 1875 Argentina had become a center of British overseas investment. 12 per cent of British capital in Latin America went to Argentina ranking fourth behind Mexico, Brazil and Peru. By 1890 Argentina was first, receiving double what Britain invested in Brazil and Mexico at 35 per cent.[6]

Sectors

Between 1877 and 1916 large firms were involved with the following industries and goods: chocolate, jam, coffee, biscuits, shoes, glass, paper, textiles, burlap bags, metallurgy, hats, leather. There were also several tanneries in operation during those years.[6] Cigarettes were produced by Nobleza Piccardo, known today as British American Tobacco.

Anverse and reverse of the first Hesperidina bottles, c. 1864.

Beer and breweries were a growing industry in the late 19th century when Emilio Bieckert, a descendant of a beer producing family located near Strasbourg, arrived in Buenos Aires. By 1860 Bieckert was brewing light, golden beer from barley. His initial humble efforts gained him recognition and in Germany his award-winning beer was likened to Pilsner. He also opened the first ice factory in Argentina.[7] In 1864 Melville Sewell Bagley began making an orange peel liquor called Hesperidina.[6]

Three chocolate factories introduced steam-powered production in the 1880s, spurred on by growing aggregate demand, protectionist tariffs and the post-colonial tastes. One confectionary, operated by a Basque businessman, began by selling imported and locally crafted sweets, but later implemented mechanized manufacturing processes to produce wholesale quantities of a single product, a Catalan jellied quince known as dulce de membrillo.[6]

In 2012 the leading sectors by volume were: food processing, beverages and tobacco products; motor vehicles and auto parts; textiles and leather; refinery products and biodiesel; chemicals and pharmaceuticals; steel, aluminum and iron; industrial and farm machinery; home appliances and furniture; plastics and tires; glass and cement; and recording and print media.[2] In addition, Argentina has since long been one of the top five wine-producing countries in the world.[2]

Industrial centers

Córdoba is Argentina's major industrial center, hosting metalworking, motor vehicle and auto parts manufactures. Next in importance are the Greater Buenos Aires area (food processing, metallurgy, motor vehicles and auto parts, chemicals and petrochemicals, consumer durables, textiles and printing); Rosario (food processing, metallurgy, farm machinery, oil refining, chemicals, and tanning); San Miguel de Tucumán (sugar refining); San Lorenzo (chemicals and pharmaceuticals); San Nicolás de los Arroyos (steel milling and metallurgy); and Ushuaia and Bahía Blanca (oil refining).[8] Other manufacturing enterprises are located in the provinces of Santa Fe (zinc and copper smelting, and flour milling); Mendoza and Neuquén (wineries and fruit processing); Chaco (textiles and sawmills); and Santa Cruz, Salta and Chubut (oil refining)[8]

The electric output of Argentina in 2009 totaled over 122 TWh (440 PJ), of which about 37% was consumed by industrial activities.[9]

See also

References
  1. Lara Serrano, Rodrigo (19 September 2011). "Tierra Del Fuego Tech: A New Silicon Valley On South America's Southern Tip". Paris: Worldcrunch. Archived from the original on 22 May 2012.
  2. "Información Económica al Día – Nivel de Actividad" (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Dirección Nacional de Política Macroeconómica – Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas Públicas. 2013. Archived from the original (XLS) on 10 April 2014.
  3. "Argentina – Industrial production growth rate". Index Mundi – CIA World Factbook. 2011. Archived from the original on 10 March 2013.
  4. "Argentina – Economy Overview". Index Mundi – CIA World Factbook. 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012.
  5. "Argentina at TIC 2013: Country pushing CNG, food processing". Port of Spain: Digital Guardian. 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  6. Rocchi, Fernando (2006). Chimneys in the Desert: Industrialization in Argentina During the Export Boom Years, 1870-1930. Stanford University Press. p. 19.
  7. "La historia de Bieckert, cerveza y mucho más". Forbes Argentina. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  8. "Argentina – Industry". Encyclopedia of the Nations. 2002. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013.
  9. "Electricity/Heat in Argentina in 2009". Paris: IEA – International Energy Agency. 2009.
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