International trade in beef and economic development of selected South American countries

Abstract

Beef available for the world [?] is becoming relatively scarce and thus governments in the Latin American beef exporting nations are in a unique position to decide, within limits of market demand, the form in which their product should be exported. Choosing the optimal combination of product forms and the appropriate policies to encourage their production is a complex problem--but one which governments and firms must make for both the short and long run. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to provide guidelines for decisions relating to investments, marketing, development and policy in the Latin American beef industry. The key working hypothesis is this study and one supported by the analysis is that many of the Latin American beef exporting nations could accelerate economic development without reducing tax revenue by providing or maintaining incentives for processed beef products. Five types of beef exports common to the countries of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay were selected for analysis. These are live cows, bone-in beef quarters, manufacturing beef, cooked/frozen beef, and canned beef. The advisability of a Latin American county focusing on one or more of these exports at the expense of others was determined in three different stages. The first is a description of world trade in canned beef with projections to 1985, the second is projections of world trade in all beef products to 1985, while the last is estimation of the output and income multiplier effect on the four Latin American countries listed. The final result is an integrated package with estimations of market demand, supply, and the effect on economic development from the various export forms. ...