MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Chile among leading exporters of 23 non-copper related products
Chile leads the world in copper production but the country must do more to diversify its export-driven economy, according to experts. Precisely to diversify several government and industry bodies have spent years promoting Chile’s major non-mining related export items, which consist largely of produce, wood products and aquaculture. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesChile has had 40 years to diversify.
Dec 02nd, 2013 - 07:00 pm - Link - Report abuse 0How long does the model need? 200 years?
40 years?
Dec 02nd, 2013 - 08:07 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Why did the clock start at 1973?
Well Argentina has certainly simplified instead of diversifying. Energy exporter to energy importer. Beef exports down.
But at least they have soy now….. lots and lots of soy.
It's alright Nostrils. With your dreams of autarky, Chile will step into many of the exports markets that Argentina will abandon
Little ol' Chile with less than half the population of Argentina and much much less land and resources manages to export roughly the same amount as Argentina.
That's why their richer I guess.
1@ It had taken 40 years to rebuilt a destroyed economy, the heritage of just 3 years of the same economic policies from the UP Gvt. leaded by the coward Allende and his extremist leftist gangs......like your present Gvt. leaded by the one-eyed Kirchner first and the bipolar Mrs. Botox now is trying to destroy your economy....
Dec 03rd, 2013 - 01:34 am - Link - Report abuse 0Thanks to the vision of our great leader Mr. Pinochet, who encouraged our economist to change from a passive state ruled economy up to 1970 and a state ruined economy from 1970 to 73, to a highly vigorous free market ruled economy that move us, the country from a bottom level LA economy to the top one LA economy and better than the most of the all world. An example on how thing must be done to built an economy that become dynamic, growing with stables policies that allow to invest with high expectations.......just the contrary as the Argentine economy has been changed.....
We have a country that even the bad leftist Gvts. we had during 20 years wasn´t possible to destroy, only retarded its highest levels of development it showed before 1991. Fortunately, this last almost 4 years, with a smart GVT. we have retrieved the strength and spirit needed to go back to the growth......the only way that allows to all the citizens to get higher levels of lives, sharing the richness not the poverty (for further information about it please read what is happening to Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua and other socialist heavens....the model followed by the Kichnerist Gvt.).
So sad what it's happening with our neighbours, the real people, the pedestrian one´s, robed and humiliated by those elected to lead the country to the summit and it´s heading you to the bottom....Now, if you want we can lend you our top economist brains to rebuilt your country in short time with the high amount of resources and well skilled people you have....just left to change the worst leaders you have had last decades.
Toby,
Dec 03rd, 2013 - 04:17 pm - Link - Report abuse 040 year?
20 would be more reasonable. As Sergio explains above it took 20 years to build the solid base from where we could start thinking about diversifying.
We can't magically diversify. Our energy cost impede most mass industries. What we have done is become extremely efficient at what we do. With 3% arable land we are one of the largest fruit exporters in the world. We have won niche markets to increase yield per hectare: blue berries = $5000 / tonne (soy = $500). Chilean wagyu beef sells for $200/kg in the US and $300/kg in Japan. Intelligent use of what we have.
Despite the record performance of non-copper exports, these products have been held back by the high peso. Now the copper boom is cooling the peso is falling back which will give all non-copper sectors a boost.
You should know too, that in the background, quietly there is a whole generation of young Chilean entrepreneurs expanding into Peru, Colombia, Asia. Here is a nice example:
http://www.capital.cl/negocios/un-chileno-a-la-conquista-de-asia/
Santiago is becoming the tech capital of South America - that is very significant when you consider that in all our industries (mining, forestry, salmon, wine, etc) national corporations have become the largest in the world. Expect to see Chilean businesses listed in NASDAQ in the future.
There is more to diversification that building small, low quality French and Italian cars.
I guess what I mean is more of a Korea 40 year:
Dec 03rd, 2013 - 05:42 pm - Link - Report abuse 01950: they were peasants growing substistence rice
1990: hyundai and Samsung
I like what Chile has done, for Chile. That is not applicable in Argentina.
Argentina does not have resources to build a base, it must protect what it has. Chile has copper, Venezuela oil, Peru mining, Brazil it's size, Mexico trade with the USA. We don't have neither resources, nor oil, nor size, nor a rich country next door.
different circumstances.
@5
Dec 03rd, 2013 - 06:05 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Toby,
Argentina is far more blessed with natural resources than Chile.
In 1973 Chile had 7% of the world known copper deposits.
In 1975 we had 30% of the worlds know copper deposits.
See what I am saying?
Nostrils says:
Dec 03rd, 2013 - 08:40 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Argentina does not have resources to build a base, it must protect what it has. Chile has copper, Venezuela oil, Peru mining, Brazil it's size, Mexico trade with the USA. We don't have neither resources, nor oil, nor size, nor a rich country next door”
What a load of bollocks. Australia has no rich country next door like Mexico nor a large population like Brazil. Mining makes up 10% of our economy and manufacturing isn't even that important anymore.
It's services. 70% of Australia's economy and about 70% of its employment is in services.
It doesn't matter how big your resources are, they are worth less and sometimes worthless if you don't have the right economic policy and legal framework for investment.
Nostrils loves to highlight how bad Australia's economy was in the 1980s and he is right (for once I know amazing!) so we reformed. Wealth doesn't come to you on platter you have to create the right conditions.
And if places like South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore can go from agrarian economies to first world in 40 years; and if Australia could be an economic basket case only 30 years ago; then Argentina has no excuse. Because it started from a much higher level than all those examples.
Argentina is surround by countries with similar languages and cultures, has highly fertile land and resources and is not that far from the rich markets of Europe.
Australia is at the arse end of nowhere. Has had extremely poor and unstable countries with heterogeneous cultures and languages on its doorstep, is mostly desert and is a long way from all the rich market until about 10 years ago.
As per usual, Nostrils simplistic worldview is missing something major.
Latin America is a case study. Contrary to most right-wingers, I believe the dictatorships supported by the USA back in the days made the region the disgrace it is today. They gave all non-marxists parties a bad reputation and left the ideological vacuum that was quickly fullfilled by the them. This communist coup talk is just McCarthyism, they did not have the popular aproval in those times... Now they do and reforms are made out of necessity, not by ideological reason.
Dec 04th, 2013 - 02:24 am - Link - Report abuse 0I guess I have to be more precise: Argentina has no STRATEGIC resources.
Dec 04th, 2013 - 03:53 am - Link - Report abuse 0You need those to develop in the 21st century. Agricultural products are not it.
Toby,
Dec 04th, 2013 - 12:08 pm - Link - Report abuse 0You have gold, silver, zinc, copper, aluminium, boron, lithium, beryllium, niobium and more. You also have the hydrocarbons to be completely energy self-sufficient. How much more do you need?
What lacks is strategic thinking, not strategic resources.
Nostrils says:
Dec 04th, 2013 - 08:35 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“I guess I have to be more precise: Argentina has no STRATEGIC resources.”
Well a country's best STRATEGIC resources are its population. And the better educated they are and the more productive they are, the better.
So you are right. Argentina's greatest asset has been squandered by pathetic governments that care about ideology and some islands than about educating and empowering their people.
So I agree with you Nostrils. “Argentina has no STRATEGIC resources.”
So during your lifetime you can continue to watch your country decline even further. One day you and your fellow countrymen might finally get sick of that and do something about it.
Australia is one of the few countries in the world that will have a larger population in 2100 than it does now. And when we encounter problems, we will reform instead of gleefully highlighting problems in other countries as an excuse to put our heads in the sand.
Argentina's decline has stopped yet - there is much further to go if you let it. But from where I am standing, my country's future looks awesome.
It is a great shame that you don't have the same faith in your own country. Such a trait is becoming part of your national psyche.
Australia, the lucky country.
Argentina, the we were once rich country.
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