70 BULLETIN 1409, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
PRINCIPAL GRAIN EXPORTERS 
The export trade in grain is largely in the hands of two firms 
which handle more than 60 per cent of the total grain exported 
annually from Argentina. Each of these firms has a large buying 
organization, equipment at the principal ports, and is in constant 
communication with the consuming markets of Europe. They are 
reported to advance considerable sums of money to producers and 
country factors to finance the harvesting of the crop and to be in a 
position to obtain special service from the railways. To what 
extent the two firms compete with each other or act in concert in 
dividing up the territory and determining country prices is not 
known. 
COOPERATION 
Agricultural cooperative societies have multiplied throughout the 
cereal region and in the wine-grape region of Mendoza and San Juan. 
In 1913 there were 34 societies with a membership of 13,371. These 
increased in 1919 to 82 societies with 20,211 members and a capital 
of about $2,967,344 and business amounting to about $5,325,000 per 
annum, and hail insurance amounting to more than $100,000,000. 
The number of societies has since more than doubled. These 
societies are formed mainly by groups of farmers and usually they 
have a cooperative store and warehouse through which they buy 
farm machinery, fencing material, seed, clothing, and supplies, 
insure their crops, and sell their grain. 
The membership of the cooperative societies is largely Italian. 
Their organization has proved to be one of the most effective means of 
promoting community effort among farmers for public improve- 
ments, for concentrating their buying power and financial resources, 
for mutual crop insurance, for obtaining a measure of independence 
from certain monopolistic tendencies and for dealing directly with 
buying and selling agencies at the terminal markets, transportation 
companies, and public authorities. Perhaps the finest thing about 
these cooperative societies in Argentina is the spirit of enterprise, 
initiative, pride, self-help, and public spirit that is developed in the 
membership. This is a factor of the utmost importance in a country 
whose people are accustomed to depend almost entirely upon a slow- 
moving government to take the initiative in all public improvements 
and the correction of all abuses, local as well as national. 
BANKS AND CREDIT FACILITIES 
Argentina has ample banking and credit facilities, including national 
and provincial Argentine banks, as well as British, German, Italian, 
French, and Spanish banks in the larger cities, and in Buenos Aires 
two United States banks. Perhaps the two most important banks 
in the Republic are the National Bank (Banco de la Nacion) and the 
National Mortgage Bank (Banco Hypotecario de la Nacion). Both 
of these banks, have branches in every important town and both 
finance farm and livestock operations. On December 31, 1924, the 
National Bank had deposits amounting to $584,000,000. The total 
bank deposits on that date amounted to $1,130,000,000. The total 
money in circulation in 1924 is reported as $513,000,000 (1,319,797,- 
739 pesos), with a gold reserve of $399,000,000 (451,782,984 pesos), 
which is a gold guarantee of 77.8 per cent. 
