64 PRODUCTION 



In spite of general climatic advantages, droughts occur occasionally, 

 which, under the present system of production, are destructive to 

 live stock. The exports of meat are therefore liable to fluctuations 

 and this feature is likely to be apparent also in the future. 



PARAGUAY. 



Paraguay is distinctly sub-tropical in climate and rainfall, an 

 resembles the neighbouring northern part of Argentina. It consists 

 of forested ridges, with intervals of open grasslands, and its wealth 

 lies rather in timber and tropical products than in pastoral products. 

 In this respect Paraguay forms a contrast with Uruguay, which 

 is overwhelmingly pastoral, and contains only small forest areas, 

 and these in the more remote parts near the Brazilian frontier. 

 Owing to its tropical climate, its unenterprising inhabitants, its 

 extensive forests, and its great distance from tide- water, Paraguay 

 has remained in a backward state of development, from which there 

 is no immediate prospect of progress. 



While some of its forest and tropical products find their way 

 down the Parana to overseas markets, its trade in animal- 

 products is mainly with the neighbouring republic of Brazil, to 

 which it exports jerked beef, while drawing its supplies of young 

 cattle from the interior parts of the same country. Stock-raising 

 industries are at a primitive level. Sheep are few and degenerate, 

 having lost both fat and wool. 1 Cattle are said to number about 

 5 million head, 2 but are nowhere near the Argentine standard as 

 meat-producers, 3 owing to centuries of neglect and acclimatisation 

 in the tropics. 1 Needless to say, no pure-bred stock exists in the 

 country, and scarcely any attempts have been made to improve 

 the breeds or the pastures, or to combat animal diseases, which are 

 troublesome. 4 Surplus cattle are suitable only for jerked beef 

 or for the manufacture of extracts, 5 and there is little likelihood 

 that such surplus will be fit for refrigeration, even if transport is 

 available, for many years to come. 



Accurate statistics of the numbers of, and trade in, cattle and 



1 A. K. Macdonald, " Paraguay/' 1911, pp. 231-2. 



a U.S. Daily Commerce Report, Aug. 2nd, 1912, but a British Consular 

 Report for 1913-14 states (p. 8) that " the total stock of cattle in Paraguay 

 probably does not exceed 3 million head." 



3 Cf. British Cons. Report, for 1913-14, p. 8 : How far it will be possible 

 to breed high-class stock with advantage presents a problem that has 

 still to be solved." 



4 Foot and mouth disease and the blowfly do much damage, while cattle 

 tick is very prevalent except on the Chaco. 



5 " Only the lowest grade of stock is found in this part of South America. 

 The meat is only fit for extract and canning, or immediate consumption, not 

 for refrigeration." U.S. Daily Commerce Report, Aug. 2nd, 1912. However, 

 a British Consular Report states that the enhanced prices of cattle are likely 

 to displace the production of jerked beef by more economical methods. 



