Adoption of herbicide resistant soybean in Argentina: an economic analysis

Abstract

Soybean cultivation was introduced in the Pampean region of Argentina in the 1970s, and has been characterized by an incredible rate of adoption and growth. In 1970–71, soybean production amounted to 59,000 tons, with a crop area of approximately 38,000 hectares. Only ten years later, in the 1980–81 season, production increased to 4 million tons and the crop area to over 2 million hectares. In the 2000–012 season, the planted area exceeded 10 million hectares and the output was estimated to be 23–25 million tons. As for utilization, soybeans and related products (oil and flour) represent 15% of Argentina’s total exports. Argentina is the world’s largest exporter of soybean oil (30% of the world exports) and the second largest exporter of soybean flour (27% of the world exports). These figures allude to the rising importance of soybeans to Argentina.