The Private investment and public policies in the formation of a functional specialization in an export-oriented regional economy

Cherry production in the Lower Valley of the Chubut River, Argentina (1994–2019)

Abstract

The public-private coordination in promoting cherry production in the Lower Chubut River Valley (VIRCH) has been successful for a group of actors who, through their engagement in the activity, have managed to transcend the local scale. The sector’s dynamics, the characteristics of participants at each stage, and the macroeconomic conditions accompanying its initiation, expansion, and consolidation between 1996 and 2019 allow for a better understanding of the tensions generated by the modernization processes of the 1990s in regional economies focused on the international trade of fresh food, as well as their subsequent repercussions.

The article analyzes productive actors with the capacity to drive export-oriented production and their relationship with public policies that support the development of their enterprises. Through a qualitative approach, it contributes to understanding the heterogeneity of the territorialization process of agribusiness in Argentina. Specifically, the study examines how the owners of cherry-producing farms in the VIRCH conceive and implement their business strategies, and the differences in outcomes based on attributes such as lack of agricultural background, urban origin, and the socialization environments in which they have been embedded.