Well actually it is a Chile farm Show. 

info@gtsa-chile.com

www.gatewaytosouthamerica.com

Investors from Argentina, Brazil, Spain’s Basque province and China are looking for opportunities in Uruguayan assets given the excellent political stability record of the country and proven reliability of its Judicial branch.

The trend which has been steadily increasing for several years now is proving impervious to the general election at the end of the month, even when opinion polls are forecasting a very tight race. Analysts anticipate that not much will change whoever wins, since the three main political forces of Uruguay have rotated in office, in clean elections, and all have been very careful in their support of orthodox economics and the fostering of foreign investment, a consensus that has prevailed since the country returned to democracy a quarter of a century ago. Precisely at the end of last month Marfrig from Brazil and one of the world’s leading food processing groups, announced the acquisition of a majority stock (51%) in the Uruguayan Tannery Zenda which works mostly overseas with upholstery for some of the most prestigious German car brands. Almost simultaneously Jose Luis Pereira spokesperson for Uruguay’s Autoparts Chamber announced that three overseas companies were interested in establishing themselves in Uruguay to supply foreign manufacturers.

 Argentina has also become an endless supplier of investors for Uruguay. They have crossed to Uruguay looking for investment opportunities not only in the more traditional agriculture and real estate sectors but also in manufacturing and services.  Some of the most advanced Argentine farmers who have settled in Uruguay helping to promote a truly technological “revolutionary” transformation of Uruguay’s agriculture, which historically has been more traditional and adverse to risk.

 In Spain an official Uruguayan trade delegation, headed by Finance minister Alvaro García, met with Basque entrepreneurs who expressed a firm interest in Uruguay’s foreign investors’ legal framework and opportunities to invest in different sectors. A delegation of Basque businessmen is scheduled to visit Uruguay in the near future. Last September a delegation of Uruguayan entrepreneurs visited the International Investment and Trade Fair in China and also returned with good news. “Chinese businessmen expressed interest in knowing more and in depth about what is considered one of the most stable economies of the region and a reliable access to the South American trade area, Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay plus associate members, Chile and Bolivia). “Chinese investors showed a special interest in infrastructure projects, renewable energies, water treatment plants and port facilities” according to Roberto Villamil head of the Uruguayan delegation. China is one of Uruguay’s leading trade partners and since its opening to the capitalist system almost three decades ago, has been the main purchaser of the country’s wool clip and tops.

info@gtsa-uruguay.com

While most commodities prices have risen , agricultural commodities have lagged behind the rally. I think that’s going to change in a big way, thanks to a country with a billion hungry mouths and plenty of cash.

Why has agriculture lagged?  It comes down to a two main  points

Expectations of larger crops in the U.S. and other countries.
Fears that the global recession would weigh on demand for meat. Since it takes a lot of grain to feed pigs and cows, that in turn weighed on expectations of grain demand.
But now, with harvest season upon us, those two fears are fading. Bad weather is dragging down harvests in the U.S. and Australia. And signs of recovery in emerging markets like China are ramping up prospects of meat consumption again.

Another factor to consider is the Argentina and Brazil are the food bowl to the world. As the U.S. dollar slumps lower against other currencies, South American grain becomes more affordable for deep-pocketed foreigners. That lifts up grain sale and prices.

And who is going to buy a lot of their agriculture products? China!

Here are some facts on China that are bullish for the long-term trend in prices

• China is losing more and more farmland to desertification and urbanization. From 1950 to 1975, China lost an average of 600 square miles of arable land each year. By 2000, the loss of good farmland accelerated to nearly 1,400 square miles. Some of the best farmland has been plowed under to build skyscrapers, and only 28% of China’s remaining farm land is considered high-yielding.
• China suffers from low yields. For example, China’s corn yields are less than 80 bushels an acre, half the size of U.S. corn farmers’ yields. And China’s farm yields are only growing at 0.9% annually.
• China has to feed 7.3 times as many people per acre of arable land as the U.S., and three times as many as Europe. And the crisis is worsening because China has 22% of the world’s population and only 7% of its fresh water. What’s more, thanks to pollution, three-quarters of its river water are undrinkable or unfishable. Scientists say the aquifer under China’s northern plain — which produces half of the country’s wheat and a third of its corn — has been dangerously depleted by overpumping.
• China’s per capita grain demand is rising, especially in cities, and it will build a lot more cities. By 2025, China will have added 350 million urban residents to its population — about the size of the entire population of the U.S. today — and by 2030, should have 221 cities with more than 1 million residents.

The really interesting thing about this chart is that you can see the Chinese used to spend much more per capita on food. If that ramps up again, China’s food intake could soar.
Bottom line: According to a report from Societe Generale, if China follows the same path as South Korea, whose economy grew at an average rate of 6% between 1965 and 1989, China’s grain consumption would more than double to 812 million metric tonnes over the next 25 years.

Where will this grain come from? China’s grain stockpiles are near 30-year lows …
So that leaves global grain supplies. While two years of bumper harvests have boosted global stockpiles, as measured by months’ worth of inventory, they still are lower than at any time since World War II.
Speaking of the world, it’s not just China that’s hungry. According to a report from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization earlier this year, more than 1 billion people across the world are hungry — an increase of 100 million people in just the last year. The difference between China and most of the rest of the world’s hungry people is that China has cash — lots and lots of money that we ship them every day in return for cars, toys, and lead-saturated toothpaste.
What do you suppose China will do if it needs grain?
China’s Grain Demand Could Explode
Going forward, all it will take is one bad harvest to tip China over the edge from low stockpiles to no stockpiles. If that happens, South America’s grain prices and farm-related stocks could blast off.
So, China’s booming appetite should be good news for South American Commerial farm land

www.gatewaytosouthamerica.com

Some of the Irish people who got used to walking into jobs have cut their losses and are riding out the recession in Buenos Aires WHILE LOOKING for work experience during his third year studying economics at Trinity College Dublin, David Slattery realised that the times were changing. In contrast to previous years, internships for his intake were hard to come by. He finally found one with a foreign bank but that fell through when the bank went bust. It was an ominous portent for what lay ahead and in stark contrast to the optimism, on entering university, that exciting, well-paid jobs would be waiting for whoever wanted them on graduation. Slattery estimates that since graduating in June, a third of his year group have gone travelling, with a similar number signing up to do masters’ degrees and only a third going straight into jobs, a much smaller percentage than in previous years. Once it became clear that a job in investment banking was not going to materialise, he had to get creative and so decided to gather his savings and relocate to Buenos Aires. The city probably never featured prominently on lists of where older generations went to escape previous Irish slumps but then, this time around, the traditional recessionary outlets are also down on their luck. Friends who had visited raved about one of the world’s most exciting cities. First-time visitors from Ireland are often surprised at just how sophisticated the city South Americans consider their continent’s most urbane capital actually is. The boulevards remind you of Paris or Madrid, while the social life compares easily with London or New York. But the buzz in the air is Latin and the prices are far lower than anywhere near to home, even in these deflationary times. For recent Irish émigrés planning to spend some time here while waiting for the tide to turn at home, this cut-price cosmopolitanism is a welcome attraction, as they look for somewhere to make savings and severance packages last longer.

Probably not since the 1860s and the arrival of Argentina’s original Irish community has this South American country with a dubious economic reputation been seen as a bolthole for those looking to escape hard times at home. “I love it here. The locals are very friendly, the standard of living is great and the weather is fantastic,” says Slattery. Another recent arrival is Niamh Haughey, who decided to take a severance package from a failing bank back home. She had visited Argentina in 2004 and always thought about coming back to learn Spanish. “Some time out is good for you. I had a job in the boom and now have decided to do some travelling during the recession,” she says. While some, such as Slattery and Haughey, are open to the idea of work experience to help make the euro they have brought with them go farther, few are planning a permanent move – perhaps just as well, as Argentina’s chaotic economy and stifling bureaucracy makes finding regular jobs a challenge. For these children of the great Irish bust, goals such as learning Spanish and seeing some of the continent while the recession at home works its way through the job market are more important than carving out a foreign future like their predecessors did in London and Boston in the 1980s. There are no official numbers to indicate how many young Irish people are making Buenos Aires their recessionary escape valve. Jason Murphy, a long-time Irish resident and owner of the popular Shamrock Bar, says there were always Irish passing through Buenos Aires. “But before, they were on holiday or taking a year out from their job. In the last few months I have seen young Irish people showing up, looking to spend some time here and asking for work, which you didn’t really see before,” he says. Among his bar staff he now counts one former bank employee.

These new Irish arrivals are part of a broader migratory trend south by young northern high-flyers hit by the downturn. Recent Buenos Aires gatherings organised by the exclusive, online social network, A Small World, included many “resting” bankers and private equity types from Europe and North America, with a smattering of Irish reported among them. “Before the global recession I had no Irish clients, now I have four that I am helping to apply for residency visas,” says Buenos Aires immigration lawyer Gabriel Celano. “Before the crisis I helped many Americans who wanted to move here to retire. Now the age profile is becoming younger. You see laid-off lawyers and bankers from the US and Europe, who received a pay-off, coming down here. Most are not looking to settle long term, just for a few years. Many say they are evaluating business opportunities or want to learn Spanish. Others come to party because here they can do more with less money,” says Celano. But even if it all sounds far more glamorous than the boat to Holyhead, there is still resentment among these Celtic Tiger kids about the economic calamity that hit during the first years of their working careers. “There is a lot of resentment at home. Our generation had no problems with money and jobs were easy to get. Now is the first time we are experiencing a recession and we have no idea how it will go,” says Darragh Brady, another recent arrival in Buenos Aires. After several years working in finance in London, the 31-year old Dublin native looked to move home and set up a business but banks refused to lend him the start-up capital as the downturn began to accelerate. Looking for a job instead became an exercise in frustration as it soon became apparent there was little or no chance of landing one. So he decided to spend some time in Argentina learning Spanish as he sees “nothing happening” at home for the next year or two. “I am really angry at the Government. At home there is too much resignation but not enough retribution. Ahern and McCreevy got us into this mess and the fact that no-one is saying this straight out really makes me angry. They were listening to the top economic minds in Ireland and ignored them for the sake of making what were, in my opinion, populist decisions instead of managing the country in a prudent manner.” For these new Irish emigrants, Buenos Aires may seem like an idyllic escape from the tribulations at home, but it does not mean they have forgotten the circumstances that brought them here.

Buscan posicionar a la Argentina como el principal proveedor en América del Sur

Alfredo Sainz
LA NACION

Después de la primera tanda de proyectos ligados al régimen de diferimientos impositivos, el negocio del aceite de oliva vive una nueva ola de inversiones. Si bien todavía se trata de una industria relativamente pequeña -con una facturación cercana a los US$ 150 millones y un consumo per cápita de apenas 100 ml anuales por habitante-, el mercado crece de la mano de las nuevas plantaciones en San Juan, Catamarca, La Rioja, Mendoza y hasta la provincia de Buenos Aires.

En todos los casos, los nuevos proyectos son impulsados al margen de los diferimientos impositivos que impulsaron el crecimiento de la industria en la década del 80 y apuntan mayoritariamente a satisfacer la demanda internacional, aprovechando que el aceite de oliva argentino puede competir en contra estación contra los grandes productores europeos.

Los mayores productores olivícolas del mundo se encuentran en el Mediterráneo y en la actualidad el mercado es liderado por España, que en su última campaña superó el millón de toneladas. Un escalón más abajo se ubican Italia, Grecia y Portugal, que también lideran el consumo de este tipo de productos. La Argentina es el productor más importante de América y ocupa el puesto número 11° en el ranking global, con una producción de 30.000 toneladas.

Competidores

“Hoy Brasil está consumiendo las mismas 30.000 toneladas de aceite de oliva que la Argentina y tenemos la ventaja arancelaria frente al producto que ingresa de España o Portugal. Así como sucedió con el mercado del vino, donde las marcas argentinas desplazaron a las chilenas, creemos que tenemos una oportunidad para crecer muy grande, especialmente en San Pablo, donde existe una cultura gourmet muy desarrollada”, señaló José Chediack, presidente del grupo Phrónesis, un holding que reúne entre otras empresas a Solfrut, una de las mayores productoras de olivos y vides de San Juan, y a la marca de aceite de oliva Oliovita, que se comercializa no sólo en la Argentina, sino también en Estados Unidos, Brasil, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela y Singapur. Solfrut cuenta con más de 1000 hectáreas de producción y acaba de hacer una inversión de US$ 15 millones para el desarrollo de nuevas plantaciones en San Juan y La Rioja.

En el mercado interno, el liderazgo del negocio está en manos de Molinos Río de la Plata, la alimentaria del grupo Perez Companc, que con sus marcas Lira y Cocinero controla un poco menos de la mitad del negocio. Oliviota se ubica tercera en ventas y compite contra la mendocina Yancanelo, la bodega Zuccardi -que sumó una línea de aceites a sus tradicionales marcas de vino- y nuevos jugadores como el empresario del negocio del juego, Cristóbal López, que incursiona con su marca Indalo.

El potencial del negocio del aceite de oliva además sedujo a grandes productores europeos, principalmente a los provenientes de España, que buscan diversificar sus inversiones, como en los casos de los grupos Borges (la número uno de su país), Fragata, AgroSevilla y Guadalquivir.

En el mercado además surgieron propuestas más innovadoras, como Cuna de Olivares, la primera empresa en desarrollar fideicomisos olivícolas en la Argentina. En la actualidad cuenta con 750 hectáreas propias en San Juan y Mendoza, en las que cultiva olivos para la producción de aceite de oliva extra virgen fraccionado para exportación. Con este objetivo, hace un par de meses concretó la primera venta de su producción de aceite de oliva extra virgen -fraccionado y con su marca Vero Andino- a la República Popular de China.

fuente: La Nacion

Monday, October 19, 2009 BUENOS Aires, Argentina – The value of forests to the global effort to stymie the fallout from climate change, is among the issues to be discussed over the next five days at the 13th World Forestry Congress, which opened here yesterday. The conference, held every six years, is being hosted under the theme ‘Forests in Development – a vital balance’. It comes just two months before the crucial and highly anticipated United Nations (UN) climate change talks in Copenhagen, Denmark, where it is expected that a decision will be taken – if on nothing else – on the UN programme for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation. That programme, among other things, is envisaged to establish an international finance mechanism that developing countries, such as Guyana or perhaps even Jamaica, can draw on to help preserve their threatened forests or otherwise to do forest replanting. The precise details have yet to be worked out but the programme is deemed crucial in some quarters, owing, at least in part, to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that cutting down forests currently contributes to 20 per cent of the overall greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere. The presence of greenhouses gases, such as carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere is helping to fuel global warming and by extension a change in the world’s climate. A change in the world’s climate, in turn, threatens not only warmer global temperatures and the resultant increase in the incidents of diseases such as dengue and malaria in the Caribbean and elsewhere, but also rising sea levels, which could see an end to coastal livelihoods. It also presents the prospect of an increase in the frequency and/or intensity of hurricanes and other natural disasters. The IPCC is the body of scientists, established by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organisation to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic consequences. Among the other issues to be discussed under the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)-supported congress are forests and biodiversity, producing for development, forests in the service of people, caring for forests, development opportunities (associated with forests) and organising forest development. The subject of people and forests in harmony is also to be discussed at the congress, which has attracted the participation of hundreds from across the world.

The price per square meter property in Montevideo keeps dropping and the number of transactions is diminishing visibly. The average value of purchases and sales in the city fell, both in dollars and pesos, according to INE. According to The National Statistics Institute (INE), the number of real estate transactions declined 24.45%.

Currently I am travelling through New Zealand and Australia catching up with clients and family. It is very evident that the recession is easing in these countries and they are looking again to invest elsewhere. Because in recent years there has been a strong migration of South Americans to these countries for a variety of reasons the local knowledge of them has vastly improved. Many of the pioneer Western investors  have had mixed results in South America mostly due in hindsight to a complete misunderstanding of the culture  business and climatic differences. Of all the pioneer Western Investors the English have been some of the most successful and their heritage is still to be seen today.

In the future I would expect to see more Australian and New Zealand investment in South America as investors wake up to the opportunities. The larger companies have already led the way and the retail investors will follow.

Unlike 1st World countries South America is just beginning to emerge from a long period of stagnation and thus has a lot more potential upside given its low population density and well educated middle class population.

For those looking to the future now is the time to explore these opportunities.  

Geoffrey W McRae

geoffrey@gatewaytosouthamerica.com

Chile

This past month has seen a steady increase in the number of requests we are receiving for Chile farms. I believe this is partly due to the traditional increase in real estate activity in Spring and partly due to the increasing awareness of what Chile lakes and rivers province farming has to offer as an option for a low cost pasture based farming system.

 Here are our 3 most common requests:

1.      Entry level farms: These are popular requests for first time farm buyers that find it increasingly difficult to reach their goal of farm ownership in their own countries. Entry level farms are usually farms under 100ha´s and around the USD $500,000 mark. Here is a good example of what you can get for this investment level (link to CLGMF100)

2.      Large scale Dairy farm Conversion: These are popular requests for farm investment companies and individuals looking for excellent return on investment in dairy farming. Usually around the 250-300Ha mark (600-700 cow potential) so a centrally located milking shed (tambo) means the cows don´t have to walk more than 1-2km maximum at any time. Next week I will be listing several new farms that fit this category. Prices range from USD $ 3000/Ha for partially cleared under developed farms to USD $6000/ha for a farm in pasture with infrastructure. A good example of what you can get for this investment level is (Link to CHWHF105)

3.      Lifestyle properties: These are popular requests for the baby boomer generation. People looking for a quieter lifestyle closer to Mother Nature but want something with a self sustainable income level. The most common request would be for a property with unique characteristics that would have the potential for excellent capital gain ie view of prominant volcano/mountains, coastal river or lake boundary alive with trout and salmon. A good example of what you can get for this investment level is (Link to CHWHF106)

4.      If you are interested in exploring any of these business or lifestyle opportunities, please don´t hesitate to contact me. 

 Contact: Warren Houlbrooke warren@gtsa-argentina.com

www.gatewaytosouthamerica.com

Residential – Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, Palermo Hollywood in action

If you have recently visited the area Palermo Hollywood you would have probably noticed that many of the street corners have been recently expanded and repaved with cobblestones. Palermo Hollywood’s name was coined due to the amount of production studios in the area as well as the movies that are often filmed in the district. Hollywood is a sub barrio of Palermo bounded by Santa Fe, Juan B Justo, Niceto Vega, and Dorrego. Hollywood is undergoing a massive redevelopment with a new science hub, a five star hotel, luxury condominiums and the new office of a prestigious international marketing firm.

 the government contracted various PYMES (small and medium sized companies) as contractors to expand the sidewalk space, replace sewer pipes, and re-pave roads on various intersections in Palermo, most notably in Hollywood. Restaurant owners are likely to see a large increase in business as now there is more street side dining space available for the ever-growing amount of people wishing to visit the numerous high-end restaurants in the area.

 Even larger businesses are being attracted to the area. A new addition to the Palermo Hollywood neighborhood is the international marketing and publicity firm, Ogilvy & Mather, who recently moved into a newly constructed building. Fox Latin America’s head quarters are also located in Hollywood. This is a truly positive sign for the neighborhood allowing more people to work and live there. 

 Separating Palermo Hollywood and Palermo Soho are the train tracks or “la via” which is somewhat blighted and is a very underutilized, area dividing the two neighborhoods. MINCYT (Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovación Productiva Presidencia de la Nación) is set to begin construction in the near future on a 40 million dollar redevelopment commonly referred to as the “Polo Technologico”. Upon completion, the redevelopment will total nearly 50,000 m2 of interior space featuring the new science hub for research and investigation bringing two to three thousand science professionals to the area. A science museum and ample outdoor public space will also be incorporated into the development.

 Currently there is a large abandoned warehouse located on Godoy and Paraguay that originally served as a storage center for wines that were transported from Mendoza. Since its original use, the building has had somewhat of a seedy past, but this will soon change. The planned development will maintain the existing building and will have additional new-build modern structures adjoined. The original beauty and architectural features of the building will remain intact.

 Originally known for the production studios, great restaurants and boutique design stores, Palermo Hollywood continues to be full of “action”, a perfect natural balance of work and living. The construction and development in Palermo will continue and when the dust settles the neighborhood will be that much more impressive.

 Contact: Caspar Chittenden  caspar@gtsa-argentina.com

 www.gatewaytosouthamerica.com