Perspectives on the Agro-Export Economy in Central America

192 Pages·1991·16.91 MB·English

by  Wim Pelupessy (eds.)

PERSPECTIVES ON THE AGRO-EXPORT ECONOMY
IN CENTRAL AMERICA
PITT LAT IN AMERICAN SERIES
Editor: Cole Blasier
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AUTHORITARIANS AND DEMOCRATS: REGIME TRANSITION IN
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BLACK LABOR ON A WHITE CANAL: PANAMA, 1904-1981
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OIL AND MEXICAN FOREIGN POLICY
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IN ECUADOR
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THE STATE AND CAPITAL ACCUMULATION IN LA TIN AMERICA (2
vols)
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Perspectives on the
Agro-Export Econoiny
in Central America
Edited by
Wim Pelupessy
Lecturer in Development Economics
Tilburg University, The Netherlands
Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN 978-1-349-11662-1 ISBN 978-1-349-11660-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-11660-7
© Wim Pelupessy 1991
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1991
Published in the USA by the University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh,
Pa. 15260
Published in Great Britain by Macmillan Academic and Professional Ltd
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Perspectives on the agro-export economy in Central America I edited by
Wim Pelupessy.
p. em. -(Pitt Latin American series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8229-1164-7
1. Produce trade-Central America. 2. Exports-Central America.
3. Agriculture-Economic aspects-Central America. I. Pelupessy,
Wim. II. Series.
HD9014.C462P47 1991
382'.41'09728-dc20 91-2232
CIP
To Elisabeth, compaftera de vida
Contents
~~Th~ ~
List of Figures xii
~a ~
List of Abbreviations xv
Notes on the Contributors xvn
Introduction: The Central American Agro-Export
Economy - Issues and Debates
E. V. K. FitzGerald 1
1 Perspectives of Central America's Agro-Exporting
Economy
Edelberto Torres-Rivas 11
2 International Markets and Perspectives for Central
American Traditional Exports: Coffee, Cotton
and Bananas
Massimo Micarelli 36
3 Selected Problems of the EEC Market for Central
American Coffee
Elmar Meister 54
4 Export Agriculture and Crisis in Central America:
Labour Market Problems in Nicaragua
Jan P. de Groot and Harrie Clemens 71
5 A Comparative Study of the Salvadorean and
Nicaraguan Cotton Sectors
Frans Thielen 97
6 Developments in the Coffee and Cotton Sectors of
El Salvador and Perspectives for Agrarian Policy in
the 1980s
Wim Pelupessy 136
vii
Vlll Contents
7 Conclusion: Agro-Export Sectors and Economic
Recovery
Wim Pelupessy 164
Index 173
List of Tables
1.1 Central America: origin and destination of
agricultural production by subsectors in the postwar
period (1945-8) (percentages) 14
1.2 Central America: relative participation of some
basic products in the volume of international trade
in goods 15
1.3 Central America: agricultural exports, 1977-85
('000 metric tonnes) 23
1.4 Central America: agricultural exports, 1977-85
('000,000 Central American pesos) 24
1.5 Non-traditional agricultural exports, 1978-85
('000,000 Central American pesos) 32
1.6 US imports of Central American horticultural
products, 1980-7 ('000,000 US$) 33
2.1 Survey of trends of Central American traditional
exports to international markets 37
2.2 Bananas, cotton, coffee: long-term basic economic
indicators 39
2.3 Coffee, cotton and bananas: world imports 1975,
1980, 1984 (millions US$/1000 metric tonnes,
percentages) 41
2.4 Cotton: production, exports, imports and stocks,
1980-6 ('000 metric tonnes and percentages) 44
2.5 Quarterly world market prices of bananas, coffee
and cotton (in current value), 1981-6 46
2.6 Central America: bananas, coffee, cotton as
percentage of total exports, 1972-86 47
2.7 Bananas, coffee and cotton: EEC imports from
Central America, 1980-6 ('000 metric tonnes and
percentages) 50
3.1 West German coffee imports in ICO quality groups
(1980-6; in%) 57
3.2 Market shares of the most important brands in
West Germany 59
3.3 West Germany 'Other Milds' imports by origin
(according to ICO country classification; % of West
Germany's total imports) 64
ix
X List of Tables
3.4 Fluctuation of the price relation between 'Other
Milds' and 'Robustas' (price differential of 'Robustas'
as % of 'Other Milds' price) 67
3.5 The impact of price level on the coffee exports of
selected ACP countries to the EEC (prices in US
cents/lb.; share of exports to the EEC from total
exports in %) 68
4.1 Nicaragua: agricultural exports, 1970-86
(US $'000,000) 75
4.2 Export volume, price and value, 1970-86 77
4.3 Export crops, area, yield and production, from
1969-70 to 1985-6 78
4.4 Contribution to production of export crops and
participation in livestock numbers by classes of
agricultural producers, 1970-1 (percentages) 80
4.5 Technology level on coffee plantations by type of
farm, Pacifico Central, 1986--7 (percentages) 85
4.6 Technology level on coffee plantations by type of
farm, Matagalpa/Jinotega 1986--7 (percentages) 85
4.7 Social class characteristics of the labour force in
coffee, 1980-1 (percentages) 86
5.1 Nicaragua: the distribution of cotton producers by
size, 1963-71 (%) 106
5.2 Nicaragua: the distributibn of cotton producers by
size, 1970-85 (%) 107
5.3 Nicaragua: the development of the cotton area and
yield according to the class of producer, 1980-5 109
5.4 El Salvador: the development of the cotton sector
by size of producers, 1964-78 113
5.5 El Salvador: the most important families operating
in the cotton sector and their other economic
activities, 1972-3 114
5.6 El Salvador: the development of the cotton sector,
1980-5 118
5.7 El Salvador: the distribution of the cotton area and
production according to the size of producers,
1969-82 (%) 119
5.8 Nicaragua: destination of cotton sold by
cotton-growers according to the size of producers,
1977-8 (%) 122