Exportaciones de cerezas en Argentina: El rol de la coordinación público-privada

Abstract

The exponential growth of cherry exports in Argentina in recent years is based on both external and internal factors to the sector. The favorable global market conditions were accompanied by the restructuring of companies and the development of coordination mechanisms between public and private institutions. This paper focuses on two internal elements of the sector that are most relevant to account for the export boom. First, we describe the entry process of new vertically integrated players and the technological modernization of traditional producers. Second, we focus on the institutional mechanisms that favored coordination between public and private institutions, and their role in ushering and fostering the process of sectoral change. In particular, the Integrated Producers Argentinean Cherries Association (CAPCI) played a critical role in coordinating activities between companies and the provincial and national governments for the opening of the booming Chinese market and the generation of other public goods. Despite the internal reforms and the constant growth in the global demand for counter-season cherries, the international competitiveness of the sector is still very vulnerable. The lack of financing, the instability of government policies, as well as labor legislation, and the country's tax and trade policy endanger new investments and the expansion of the cultivated area.