D^c. 1894.] WHEAT GROWING IN THE ARGENTINE 



REPUBLIC. 



165 



VII.— WHEAT GROWING IN THE ARGENTINE 

 REPUBLIC. 



Previous to 1887, the importation of wheat from the Argentine 

 Republic into the United Kingdom was a matter of com- 

 parative insignificance. But in 1887, the South American 

 State in question entered the ranks of the ten countries 

 severally furnishing wheat to Great Britain, at that period, in 

 shipments of 50,000 tons and upwards. In every subsequent 

 year, with the exception of 1889, the receipts of Argentine 

 wlieat at British poi'ts have been sufficient in volume to make 

 it manifest that the Repablic is to be regarded as a serious 

 competitor by the grain exporting countries. Our average 

 receipts of wheat from this source in 1890 and 1891 exceeded 

 130,000 tons. In 1892, Argentina sent us nearly 190,000 tons, 

 while in the following year, she held the fourth place among 

 the countries contributing to the supply of our staple food 

 grain with a shipment little short of 400,000 tons. But this 

 latter quantity has already been surpassed by the imports of 

 Argentine wheat into this country in the ten months ended 

 October last, which are estimated to have amounted to 576,000 

 toDS. This is a far larger quota than that iurnished during 

 the same period by India, Australasia, and Canada combined, 

 and it places the Republic in the third place among the countries 

 exporting wheat to Great Britain. 



Under these circumstances, an inquiry as to the conditions of 

 wlieat growing, which have led to such remarkable results, 

 cannot fail to be of interest. Unfortunately, the amount of 

 official information on this point is comparatively scanty : 

 recourse must therefore be had to such individual statements as 

 may in any way assist in throwing light on the subject. State- 

 ments of this nature must necessarily be regarded with some 

 caution, but they may be offered for what they are worth. 



According f o a report by the United States Minister at Buenos 

 Ayres, it would appear that the area devoted to wheat in 

 1894 in the Argentine Republic has been about 20 per cent, in 

 excess of that sown with the same cereal Jast year. The wheat 

 acreage of 1893 was estimated by Mr. Gastrell, Her Majesty's 

 Vice-Consul at Buenos Ayres^, at approximately 5,5uO,000 acres, 

 and this area, it was stated, represented an increase of about 83 

 per cent, over that of 1891. 



Tiie progressive development of wheat growing in the Republic 

 may be seen from the following figures of the estimated acreage 

 under that cereal at different periods. The figures for the first 

 four years are from official sources, those for 1893 are taken 

 from Mr. Gastrell's report, while the acreage of 1894 is based on 



* Foreign Office Reports, Annual Series, No A, '2S'i 



