Argentina is a presidential republic located in South America. With a total territory of 2.78 million square kilometers, Argentina is the eighth largest country in the world. Furthermore, Argentina has a coastline of almost 5.000 kilometers and shares a long western border with Chile along the Andes mountain range. Geographically, the rich Pampas plains and a large southern plateau dominate the country. Similarly, Argentina has a temperate to subarctic seasonal climate that is characteristic to the southern hemisphere.
Economics and Agricultural Output in Argentina
Today, Argentina has a total population of some 44.3 million citizens with an average age of 32 years. Likewise, Argentines are mainly of Spanish, Italian, British, German, and Amerindian descent. Currently, about 92% of Argentines live in an urban setting, notably the capital city of Buenos Aires with its 15.2 million inhabitants. In economic terms, Argentina has a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of approximately US$910 billion (in terms of purchasing power parity, PPP), which is divided into 11% agriculture, 28% manufacturing, and 61% services. Furthermore, it is estimated that the agricultural industry employs 1% of the national labor force, while manufacturing employs 25% and services employ another 74%. Lastly, in Argentina, the agriculture industry utilizes 54% of the national territory, while another 11% is forested.
During 2017, Argentina slaughtered a total of 12.55 head of cattle and, for 2018, the projected amount is 13 million head of cattle. Meanwhile, the aggregate cattle stock for Argentina during 20018 is expected to be 54 million head of cattle, including a production of 14.5 million calves throughout the year. This aggregate final cattle stock represents an increase from the 2016 total of 53 million head, which includes both dairy and beef cows and calves. Simultaneously, total beef and veal exports during 2018 are estimated to reach 350.000 metric tons (in terms of carcass-weight-equivalent, CWE), some 50% is destined towards the Chinese national market. This is also an increase from the total of 216.000 metric tons (CWE) of beef and veal exported during 2016. Meanwhile, the Argentine domestic market consumed a total of 2.43 million metric tons (CWE) of beef and veal during 2016, which is expected to increase to 2.6 million metric tons (CWE) in 2018.
When it comes to soybeans, during 2018, Argentina has begun to gradually reduce the taxes on their export. Previously, the export of soybeans from Argentina implied a 30% tax, while the export of soybean meal and soybean oil implied a 27% tax. By December of 2019, the exports taxes will have been reduced to 18% on soybeans and 15% on soybean oil and soybean meal respectively. Currently, soybeans are a major agricultural commodity in Argentina. During the 2015/16 season, the country produced 56.8 million metric tons and is projected to yield 57 million metric tons during the 2017/18 harvest season. Lastly, Argentina exported almost 9.1 million metric tons of soybeans during 2015/16 and it is expected to export 8.5 million metric tons during the 2017/18 marketing year.
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