MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Prado Agriculture Show

Uruguay's main agriculture and camp industries Show begins this Friday in Montevideo and will extend for a week with the participation of over 1,100 animals.

Sanitary controls in the Prado grounds, a few miles from downtown Montevideo, will be far stricter this year given the recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease, FAM. Cattle, sheep, horses will be present, but no hogs; however they will be replaced by alternative productions: farm bred ostrich and otters.

During the first three days judges from Australia, New Zeland, United States, Argentina and Brazil will select the best Hereford, Corriedale, Holstein, Aberdeen Angus and Criollo horses, while the following three days will be absorbed by sales.

After a terrible year that left Uruguay out of the more profitable free of foot and mouth beef market, --and farmers with depressed prices and cattle stranded in their paddocks--, organizers of the show are doing their best to prompt spirits.

"We've had all the plagues, floods, drought, FAM, Mercosur recession, so now there's no way to go but up; with spring things will begin to improve", says Mr. Conrado Ferber Artagaveytia spokesman for the Uruguayan Rural Association, who have been responsible for the Prado Show for over a century.

However the 2001 edition will have its peculiarities. Since the Rural Association and the Uruguayan government have an ongoing controversy over taxes, support prices and credit policy, there will be no formal ceremony with exchange of speeches.

Last year, when the official inauguration, the Agriculture and Livestock Minister had to stoically support a very cool reception from farmers, and Uruguayan president Jorge Batlle refused to shake hands with the farmers union president after he bitterly criticized government policy.

Just in case, the roofed tier of seats from where officials address the public and guests enjoy the parade of the best animals of the Uruguayan Camp, this year is being reformed, and therefore out of bounds, ?and (public) controversy.

Investment in salmon

Almost 35 million US dollars in a five year period will be invested by the Chilean fisheries industry in Magallanes and Tierra del Fuego to promote mainly salmon farming. During his recent visit to Punta Arenas José Gago, CEO of Pesca Chile, said the company had already invested five million US dollars during the last two years in a s