Source: CropBiotech Update

How is biotechnology shaping Argentina’s productive economy? An interdisciplinary team of researchers, with the support of the Secretariat for Science and Technology of Argentina, and the National University of de General Sarmiento (UNGS), set out to answer this question. The researchers reviewed 84 national biotech companies to determine gains in terms of sales, foreign trade and employment, and to review the innovations adopted. The companies fall in three main categories: agricultural production (54 companies), which include the development of improved new seed varieties; health; and food processing.

The study shows that Argentina occupies number 8 in the list of economies investing in biotechnology, where the USA takes the lead with 1159 biotech companies, followed by Canada with 389. The majority (80%) of the Argentinean companies are small to medium businesses with one or two biotech products, supported by national investments. Between 2003 and 2004, the biotech private sector invoiced 950 million Argentinean pesos (about US$ 310 million), and gave employment to 5000 people, 11% of which involved in R&D. “This is very significant in terms of national investment in the area, especially taking into account the nation’s economic turmoil in recent years”, said Roberto Bisang, UNGS economist. “Biotechnology can be defined as the industry of industries, as it is able to substantially promote several productive sectors of the economy”, added Bisang.

More information (in Spanish: El que apuesta a la biotecnología, gana) available at
http://www.porquebiotecnologia.com.ar/doc/reportes/result_indiv.asp?Id=3280