In Mendoza, a great quantity of world quality agricultural products is produced in a competitive manner.
The most extensive crops are:
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Cultivation
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Hectares
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| Grape |
152.927
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| Olive |
17.500
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| Garlic |
10.733
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| Plum for Industry |
8.307
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| Peach for Industry |
6.687
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| Potato |
5.268
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| Peach for Consumption |
4.456
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| Tomato for Industry |
4.446
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| Pumpkin |
4.397
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| Apple |
4.188
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| Pear |
3.643
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| Other Vegetables |
3.573
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| Plum for Consumption |
3.367
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| Apricot |
2.777
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| Onion |
2.741
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| Carrot |
2.314
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| Cherry |
1.226
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| Oregano |
1.152
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| Corn |
1.149
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| Lettuce |
830
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The agricultural sector is in full expansion and it has doubled its added value in the last 5 years, growing to an annual rate of 16%, highly superior to the world standards.
Evolution of Farming and Cattle Breeding GGP 2002=Base 100
This is a purely exporter sector which supplies markets as diverse as Europe, the USA or China; it has doubled its exports in the last 5 years, and it has consolidated a leading position in Brazil, a market of global relevance.
Mendoza takes advantage of its harvest in the North hemisphere winter, positioning its products with competitive advantages and better prices.
Evolution of Farming and Cattle Breeding Exports 2002=Base 100
Mendoza has 90% of the country’s surface planted with plums, 70% of that with cherries and 80% of that with apricots.
The quality of fruit benefits from the manual recollection system which is used.
Flowers, walnuts, almonds, honey, oregano, mint, anise, quinces, blueberries and mushrooms are also produced here.
Cattle production includes cows, sheep, and goats, and this is complemented with the raising of turkeys, partridges, chicken, snails, chinchillas, quails and rheas (American ostriches).
Production costs are low. In Mendoza, productive lands have a cost in dollars which is slightly lower than that of developed countries
Climate
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Mendoza has a Mediterranean-style warm and dry climate, with a low humidity level, an exceptional heliophany, a low rainfall of about 180 mm/year, a marked daily and seasonal thermal fluctuation which makes it an important producer of fruit and vegetables of special flavor, color and texture, and a low incidence of plagues which is ideal for organic crops. The average temperatures for January (summer) are 30ºC during the day and 23ºC at night. The average temperatures for July (winter) are 12ºC during the day and 0ºC at night. |
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There exists the support of all services, supplies and logistics which are necessary for the agricultural production and export at international level.
Mendoza has more than:
o 200 packaging plants
o 120 cold-storage plants
o 15 companies of international transport
o 35 companies of foreign trade service
o 80 companies of agricultural machinery
o 50 companies of agrochemicals
R+D
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There are institutions devoted to research, such as the ‘Instituto de Desarrollo Rural’ (Rural Development Institute), the ‘Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agraria’ (National Institute of Agrarian Technology) and the Faculty of Agrarian Sciences, with more than 300 researchers and 3,000 students. |
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Irrigation
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Mendoza, with 360,000 hectares irrigated with water coming down from high mountain glaciers, with 23.000 hm3 from underground reservoirs and 12,300 km of channels, is an example at international level of sustainable exploitation of hydric resources. This allows dosing irrigation in frequency and quantity according to the real cultivation needs. A complex system of dams irrigates the 3 oases and optimizes the rational use of water and its distribution on the cultivated area. The irrigation water is complemented with a large number of spring-water and semi-spring-water wells. |
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Productive Oases
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