Industrial and commercial South AmericaPeck, Annie S. (Annie Smith)
History
Industrial and commercial South America
Peck, Annie S. (Annie Smith)
South America; South America -- Economic conditions -- 1918-
Cattle raising is beginning to be very profitable in Paraguay as in
the neighboring countries; and here there is a chance for the small
capitalist. Formerly some live cattle were exported, but ten times as
many hides; also dried meat from _saladeros_. During the Great War
operations were carried on by three American companies. A plant at San
Salvador, nearly three hundred miles above Asunción, for slaughtering
cattle and putting up canned meat, was conducted by Morris; another by
Swift 5 miles above the Capital, where over 900,000 six-pound cans of
meat were put up in 1918. But with the conclusion of the War the demand
fell off so rapidly that both plants are closed and dismantled.
A third establishment, however, at San Antonio, 15 miles below the
Capital, is actively engaged and about to increase its output. The
International Products Company has a thoroughly modern equipment, a
real _frigorifico_, for the export of frozen meat, with a capacity
of 175,000 head of cattle a year, to be shipped to Buenos Aires and
Europe. The cattle are in part purchased from individual farmers,
but the Company has a large property where its own production is
increasing. Nearly 300 leagues of land are owned back of Puerto Pinasco
in the Chaco: one half for cattle grazing and half quebracho lands.
They have 600 miles of barbed wire and a herd of 70,000 with some
blooded stock. The western section is used for young cattle which are
moved east the third year for fattening. The Company besides tugs and
lighters for the transport of the cattle has two refrigerating steamers
to carry the frozen meat to Buenos Aires. The hides increase the value
of the production.
The native cattle are far better than the Texas Longhorn, but not
equal to the blooded stock of Argentina. They weigh 850-1000 pounds
and afford excellent beef. The Argentine is heavier but called coarser
than that of the United States. The Paraguay stock is now being
improved especially with Herefords. A 50 per cent increase of the herd
is general. It is estimated that the number of cattle in Paraguay is
now 5,000,000, and that 40,000,000 may be easily supported. The native
grasses are good, and the _jaraguá_ from Brazil is used. Stock may be
bought at $15 a head, perhaps less in large numbers, affording the best
possible opportunity for the small capitalist. The dairy industry is
slight, the native cows being poor milkers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account