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Headlines:
Fisheries Show in Uruguay; Whales are back;
Chile, Fuel prices hike; Bullish unemployment;Latinamerica:
Record unemployment

Fisheries Show in Uruguay

Uruguay will be organizing a fisheries and aquiculture show at the end of next November to bolster local production and promote fish consumption in the country. "Feria de la Pesca", Fisheries Fair, will extend from November 28th. to December 1st. and will take place in the grounds of Uruguay's Technological Laboratory, LATU, in Montevideo, with the sponsoring of the Uruguayan Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and the Aquatic Resources Department. Uruguayan fisheries exports have averaged 100 million US dollars over the last decade and the government is interested in propping the industry from its current level. "Fisheries has a great potential, and we must develop more attractive consumer options with added value and a greater input of local labor", said Ruperto Long, president of LATU. "I believe that along this path we can increase exports 50% in a five year period", explained Mr. Long adding that the show will also include a gastronomic display to promote the consumption of fish, "and help improve the Uruguayan diet that is based mainly on beef". Another area of interest is aquiculture, --an industry just beginning in Uruguay--, with experimental sturgeon farms using Russian technology, and joint projects with China and South Africa to develop different types of kelp and other sea products. On the academic side, Chilean, Peruvian and other international experts have been invited to give lectures on fish farming and world market prospects. For further information, pesca2002@latu.org.uy

Whales are back

Whales have returned to the Uruguayan coast. In an only two hours flight in July, along 250 miles of Uruguayan coast ending in Brazilian waters, at least 25 whales were sighted. A similar number was detected in the second half of June, a considerable jump from a year ago when only a couple were photographed. However the great influx is expected for mid August until October when the whales, after mating and calving, begin returning to their natural feeding grounds. The air survey and ground sighting is a joint project of the Marine Biology Department of the Uruguayan National University and several environmentalist groups such as Vida Silvestre (Wild Life), Vida Marina, with the support from private companies. Besides counting the whales part of the project is to identify the mammals by taking pictures of each of them with the low flying aircraft, (less than 300 meters). "Historically whales were very common along the Uruguayan coast, and only now they are returning so we're trying to make a census, identifying each of them, sex, age, which is not so difficult when the number is small and given the particular callosity signs of each head", said Mariana Piedra, a Biology student collaborating with the project. "It takes us eight to ten films per whale, but we're adjusting the technique and the Argentines that have a long experience with whales in the south are helping and guiding us", added Ms. Piedra. The project, besides the air survey includes eight coastal sighting posts manned by 30 students who collect information between June and December. "In the near future we expect to amalgamate our experience with a bi-national project to study the biodiversity in the joint maritime area shared by Uruguay and Argentina", remarked Ms. Piedra.

Fuel prices hike

Fuel prices in Chile this week experienced their highest increase so far this year as a direct consequence of the steady rise of the US dollar in the local exchange market. 97, 95 and 93 octane gasoline reached the equivalent of between 72 and 60 US cents per liter, and kerosene 30 US cents a liter. In Chile fuel prices operate in a free market and the only government participation, (besides taxes) is to establish reference values through the Oil Stabilization Fund taking into account the international price of crude plus the local foreign exchange rate. Overall the system seems to have worked adequately, but during the last twelve months because of the bullish international oil market and the effects of the Argentine situation in the local exchange rate, with the US dollar edging much higher than was estimated at the beginning of the year, fuel prices have been constantly in the rise. Members of Congress are now questioning the Stabilization Fund arguing "it only stabilizes upwards", and questioning "the possibility of price fixing between oil companies and distributors". "I think the system we set up two years ago is not working, and it's time to reassess it. We want to see how the Stabilization Fund is investing monies", said Pablo Lorenzini, a Congressional member of the ruling coalition. "Chile has a free market economy with no fixed prices, and it's illegal to coordinate prices, so given public opinion concerns we have sent all the information regarding fuel prices to the Attorney General's office", indicated Alberto Undurraga, head of the government's Consumer Services Office.

Bullish unemployment

Unemployment in Chile during the April-June quarter reached 9,5%, a 0,2% decrease from a year ago, but a 0,4% increase over the 9,1% of the previous February-April quarter according to the latest release by the Chilean Statistics Institute. This means that 555.590 Chileans don't have a job. The 9,5% is made up of 8% of jobless, and 1,5% looking for a job for the first time. Unemployment is slightly higher for women, 10% than for men 9,2%. Geographically, unemployment increased in Regions, 1,3,6,7,11 and 12, and dropped in Region 2,4, 9, 10 and metropolitan Santiago. Regarding Magallanes Region, unemployment in the April-June quarter increased to 7,3%, from 6,9%, meaning that another 4,740 people are out of a job. Magallanes figures in fifth place among the Chilean regions with less unemployment. According to the official release the most dynamic job generating sectors of the Chilean economy are, Public Utilities (electricity, gas, water) 6,9%; building 6,3%; Transport, Storage and Communications 5,3%; Mining and Quarries 4,1%; Retailing 2% and Manufacturing 1,2%.

Record unemployment

In the midst of an adverse political, social and economic climate, unemployment will reach a twenty years record in Latinamerica, 9,8%, in 2002, according to the International Labor Organization, IOL. Unemployment in 2001, averaged 8,2%. "The outlook for Latinamerica is discouraging because globalization in the area is concentrated in financial aspects rather than in economic policies that support industry and generate jobs", said Agustin Muñoz Regional Director of IOL. Mr. Muñoz pointed out that employment conditions could worsen "with the full impact of the "El Niño" phenomenon" that has already begun in the south of the continent and is working its way up. According to the IOL report, Latinamerica's economy will experience a 1,2% contraction, the first in almost two decades, and following a rather poor 2001 with just 0,9% growth.. "In this context the evolution of the Argentine situation is particularly significant, since its effects could reach, negatively, Mexico and deepen the forecasted recessions in Brazil and Uruguay", adds the report. The list of national unemployment rate is headed by Argentina which would reach the end of 2002 with 24%, a considerable jump from last year's 17,4%. Second comes oil rich Venezuela with a 4 points increase recording 18%; Uruguay with 16%; Peru with 11%. Brazil is expected to experiment a 1,6 increase with unemployment at 7,8% at the end of 2002. In Mexico unemployment will remain relatively stable at 2,7%. Countries that are expected to experience a decrease are Chile, stabilizing at 9%, while Colombia and Ecuador will see a considerable drop of several points. However in both cases, most has to with emigration rather than a healthy economy. Colombia is virtually undergoing a civil war process and in Ecuador 12% of the population left the country in the last five years.