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5. Economic Ideology in the Production of Nontraditional Agricultural Export Crops
- University of Arizona Press
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CHAP T ER 5 Economic Ideology in the Production of Nontraditional Agricultural Export Crops La milpa ya no sirve. —NTAE farmer Nontraditional agricultural exports (NTAE) were introduced in Guatemala toward the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s as part of structural adjustment efforts. In 2006 nontraditional exports as a whole (including apparel, agriculture, and others) represented US$4,731 million. Nontraditional agricultural exports represented revenue of US$108.5 million in 1990 and experienced a remarkable increase to US$655 million by 2007.1 While the twenty-first century began with falling coffee prices and a decline in both the volume and value of sugar exports, nontraditional exports expanded by 22.4 percent and have expanded consistently each year since 2000. The president of Agexport (Guatemalan Exporters Association) credits the free trade agreements with the United States for this development and expressed with pride his belief that “there is certainty among large American companies that in Guatemala there are clear rules” (Tulio García, in Dardón 2007). In 2004 the income from the export of frozen vegetables to the United States reached US$40 million. On this venture, Guatemala followed the same path as many other Latin American countries.2 Between 1980 and 1989, the value of nontraditional agricultural exports in Central America as a whole grew by US$155.8 million . The growth was concentrated in Guatemala and Costa Rica. These countries receive between more than 40 percent and 50 percent of earnings from these exports, respectively.3 Nontraditional agricultural exports are typically directed toward the U.S. market, with some being sent to Europe and other countries in Latin America. In Guatemala, the production of NTAE is accomplished in multiple 120 chapter 5 ways, involving export operations (agro-exporters) and individual farmers who grow crops on rented or owned land with the purpose of exporting them to the United States or Europe. Commercialization is conducted through local or regional intermediaries (also called coyotes), through direct contracts with agro-exporters, or through cooperatives made up of many producers. Independent producers may sign a contract directly with an agro-exporter firm, or, if they have little land, they may associate with other farmers and sign a contract with an agro-exporter as a group. The most common configurations and actors involved in the export of vegetables are: (1) small producers/farmers who own a piece of land and independently or in association with other small producers sell to cooperatives or intermediaries (coyotes); (2) the cooperatives, associations of farmers described below, who may sell directly to foreign buyers or to agro-exporters who, in turn, sell to foreign buyers; and (3) intermediaries who tend to sell to agro-exporter firms, which in turn sell to foreign buyers.4 It is not easy to sell to the United States, and farmers need the help of those who have the knowledge and the networks to obtain the necessary permits and establish themselves as exporters. Agro-exporters in Sacatepéquez have cited an average 35 percent rate of rejection in U.S. ports of products that, once exported, do not comply with U.S. regulations related to allowable inputs, sanitary conditions (presence of pests), and more aesthetic requirements (that is, consumers prefer to buy vegetables that are not only healthy but look physically appealing). The overall perception of farmers in the regions producing nontraditional agricultural crops for export (NTAE) is that things are better now than they were in the late 1970s, before their introduction. Except for those using middlemen, most people think that they worked harder in the past than they do now. Before NTAE, they used to work “twenty-four hours a day.” One farmer said that especially after the 1976 earthquake people began to work less, because they realized that God could take everything away in seconds. But the opinion of most is that the economy has improved. One NTAE farmer said: “The economy grew due to the NTAE. We were stagnated before. The NTAE came about fifteen years ago, and I noticed economic changes in the last five. There are more houses, more cultivated land, and more strawberries. That must mean that people work well, otherwise we wouldn’t see so much of it. People bought more land. They also bought more vehicles. I don’t see more [54.243.2.41] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 12:35 GMT) nontraditional agricultural export crops 121 education of the children, though. But, in general, I don...