generate products and services for household consumption
(Farah, 2004ab).
The non-traditional agricultural export sector, favored
by neoliberalism, has opened up salaried employment opportunities
mainly for women in the rural sector. Nonetheless,
these jobs are often seasonal, poorly paid and performed
in precarious conditions (Deere, 2005). In the greenhouses
for flowers and vegetables in Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico
and Colombia, for example, labor is mostly female and the
contracts are short-term but renewed time and again. In Colombia,
80% of the flower workers are women and they
generally earn the minimum wage, which covers only 45%
of a family’s basic needs. In Chile, Argentina and Brazil,
women are contracted for seasonal positions in the production
of fruit for export. Thus, for example, the employment
of women in the fruit sector in Chile quadrupled from 1982
to 1992 and was concentrated in temporary jobs, such that
75% of women in the agricultural sector in Chile work
under temporary contracts, harvesting fruit more than 60
hours a week during the harvest season. Of these women,
one in three earns less than the minimum wage.
Market Trends. Over the last 30 years, with the accelerated
pace at which the markets for Latin American products and
markets worldwide, have been changing, the commercial
formats of quotas and preferences have increasingly become
a thing of the past. As a result, markets are fully engaged in
a process of transformation in the trade arrangements between
countries and between regions and a collapse in tariffs
and import duties has accompanied the elimination of
quotas and preferences, pointing towards more competitive
global markets with a prevalence of value-added, comparative
advantages, quality goods and services, as well as safe
foods, traceability and biosecurity.
This transformation in the region, with tariff barriers
being replaced by technical barriers, accords less importance
to the volume of production in relation to factors such as
efficiency and productivity. This process of abrupt change
in markets has resulted not only from geopolitical changes
that have produced an international dynamic in which the
market approach prevails, even among countries and regions
that are not on the same wavelength politically, but
also from consumers themselves imposing conditions and
requirements. There is a growing trend among consumers
in the region towards a more conscientious, intelligent and
differentiated culture of consumption with respect to the
foods, cosmetics and medicinal products they consume, as
well as the services they demand.
This change in the functional structure of markets has
resulted in a series of challenges and opportunities for Latin
American agriculture. Among these opportunities, mention
can be made of the emergence of new market niches such
as the organic, ecologically-sound, ethnic and functional
markets, as well markets based on ethical-social considerations
(for example, the fair trade market). This range of
products may be produced by the small- and medium-scale
producers of the region, since the volumes are not necessarily
very high and what is most important is the type and
denomination of origin of products. It is for that reason that
many small- and medium-scale producers from countries
| |
Box 1-6. Medicinal herbs and plants in the Caribbean
The Caribbean is habitat for 2.3% (7,000) of all endemic
plants worldwide, and 2.9% (779) of the vertebrate species
of the world, even though it accounts for only 0.15% of the
earth’s land mass. Hence the Caribbean is classified as one
of the most important “hotspots” in the world (Myers et al.,
2000). In 1988 Norman Myer defined a hotspot as a region
of the earth characterized by exceptional levels of endemic
species: A hotspot should be habitat for at least 1,500 species
of vascular plants (the Caribbean has at least 2.3% =
7,000 plants), which represent 0.5% of the total of endemic
plants in the world (as of 2000). A hotspot must also have lost
at least 70% of its original endemic species. The Caribbean
has met this requirement because of major deforestation, soil
erosion and water pollution. In countries such as Haiti and the
Dominican Republic, only 5% and 17%, respectively, of their
cover remains.
The natural wealth of the Caribbean has not been economically
exploited, even though one sees a trend towards
the popularization of medicinal herbs and plants, reflected in
the number of products available on the shelves of pharmacies,
natural products and health stores, aromatherapy establishments
and supermarkets (Denzil Phillips International,
http://www.denzil.com/).
Currently, the Caribbean is known primarily for a small
number of products derived from medicinal and aromatic
herbs, despite the abundance of species. The range of products
includes teas, exotic drinks made of herbs, traditional
herbal remedies, nutraceutics, phytomedicines, essential oils,
plant extracts such as cosmetics, condiments, tinctures, liquid
extracts and functional foods. Among the best-known products
are pepper, nutmeg and chili peppers. Progress has also
been made in adding value; some of the better-known products
include Angostura, Pickapeppa Sauce, Busha Browne’s
and Walkerswood.
The biggest beneficiaries of the wealth from Caribbean
spices mostly devolve to the approximately 90 firms that import
dry herbs from the region to markets Europe, the United
States and Japan. Some 85% of the herbs are exported as
dry herbs. The global market for herbs is estimated at US$12
billion, with the trade in raw extracts coming to US$8 billion. |
such as Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, the Dominican
Republic, Peru and Colombia have been able to become international
suppliers and position themselves in markets as
demanding as those of Europe, Japan and the United States.
Relevant cases include coffee, cacao, banana, oriental vegetables,
fruits and aromatic herbs (Salas-Casasola et al., 2006)
(See Box 1-6).
The challenges posed by the markets’ new structure include
competitiveness, regulations and marketing strategies
and structures, even in those niche markets. A large number
of countries in the region are trying to access the niche |