Autor/es
Descripción
ver mas
Colaborador
Arceo, Enrique
Míguez, Pablo Fernando
Spatial Coverage
Temporal Coverage
2003-2015
Idioma
spa
Extent
305 p.
Derechos
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 2.0 Genérica (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Formato
application/pdf
Identificador
Cobertura
ARG
2003-2015
Abstract
One of the central discussions within the framework of the debates about the economic transformations of the post-convertibility period, has revolved around the nature of the evolution and changes of Argentine industry throughout that period. The different interpretations can be enriched by analyzing particular cases of enterprises and considering in greater depth the strategies deployed by entrepreneurs to adapt and operate in each circumstance. These strategies are a key tool to understand the central features of the process of capital accumulation in Argentina. In this sense, this thesis aims to shed light on the evolution of Molinos Río de la Plata, a very relevant enterprise within one of the most important industrial sectors of the Argentine economy: the agri-food sector.
Molinos Río de la Plata is a traditional agri-food company, founded in the early twentieth century, that initially focused on the export of commodities and is owned by Bunge y Born. Throughout the twentieth century, it would grow and diversify its strategies, adapting to the successive changes of the Argentine economy and developing competitive advantages to survive and grow. In 1998 it was sold to the Pérez Companc group, which had become one of the most important national processed food production companies. Considering the enterprises with the highest billing in Argentina in 2014, Molinos Río de la Plata ranked number 19, being the third food producing company and the first considering companies with national capital in that sector. In addition, it is one of the main exporting companies in Argentina.
This thesis aims to make a contribution to the debate on the evolution of the agri-food sector in the post-convertibility period (2003-2015) in Argentina. Our analysis is framed in a broader discussion about the current forms and potential of of Argentina’s economic insertion in the world economy, based on the case study of a national capital company. The general objective of the thesis is to understand the logic of accumulation deployed by Molinos Río de la Plata in the period 2003-2015 in the light of the structural limitations of the Argentine economy and the changes in the accumulation logic of the agri-food sector globally. The questions that guide our research are: how did the recent changes in the world economy affect this company? Are there changes in the traditional export insertion of this company? What were the profitability strategies during the period analyzed? What are the returns in the different business segments? What is the role of intangible capital in this strategy? What were the company’s chances of deepening transnationalization and based on what strategy?
The specific hypotheses that guide this research are linked to the company's strategies during the period 2003-2015. The first hypothesis is that Molinos Río de la Plata reprimarized the composition of its exports during the period considered and obtained high returns thanks to this strategy. The second hypothesis is that Molinos Río de la Plata sought to position itself in oligopolistic markets with differentiated products through processed foods marketed with brands in order to capture higher profits; this strategy focused on mergers and acquisitions of other brands and / or companies. The third hypothesis is that Molinos Río de la Plata failed to expand its sales of branded products abroad due to certain limitations linked to the installation of a branded product in external markets, mainly related to high costs.
The results of the research will allow us to reflect on the company's strategies to maximize profits in the 2003-2015 period, taking into account the structural limitations of the Argentine economy as a peripheral or dependent economy and the new challenges imposed by the logic of global accumulation in the agri-food industry. In the first place, the importance of the bulk-food (o bulk-products) business in the profitability of Molinos Río de la Plata shows us, at the company level, a problem that is replicated in the macroeconomic dimension: the dependence of the export complex on agricultural commodities -especially of soybeans-, which reflects a structural dependence of the Argentine economy.
A second aspect is related to the business prospects of agribusiness companies and the possibilities of Argentina to become the “supermarket in the world”. Regarding the possibilities of Argentine businesses to expand their sales in foreign markets, there have been profound transformations in the mass consumption industry center countries that impose great challenges for countries such as Argentina: the growth of retail brands, channels of e-commerce, new patterns of differentiated consumption, etc. As we will see, producing food for the global market through brands requires large capital investments, which explains the market-power of food transnationals and large retail chains and the limitations of a sector of the national bourgeoisie in their attempts to grow and transnationalize.
In this sense, considering that a consequence of the role expected of the agribusiness sector is to transform our country into the “supermarket of the world” - and without entering into the detailed analysis of the consequences of our specialization, on which there is an extensive bibliography - the thesis will contribute, by the characteristics of the chosen company, elements on the reasonableness of this role.
Molinos Río de la Plata is a traditional agri-food company, founded in the early twentieth century, that initially focused on the export of commodities and is owned by Bunge y Born. Throughout the twentieth century, it would grow and diversify its strategies, adapting to the successive changes of the Argentine economy and developing competitive advantages to survive and grow. In 1998 it was sold to the Pérez Companc group, which had become one of the most important national processed food production companies. Considering the enterprises with the highest billing in Argentina in 2014, Molinos Río de la Plata ranked number 19, being the third food producing company and the first considering companies with national capital in that sector. In addition, it is one of the main exporting companies in Argentina.
This thesis aims to make a contribution to the debate on the evolution of the agri-food sector in the post-convertibility period (2003-2015) in Argentina. Our analysis is framed in a broader discussion about the current forms and potential of of Argentina’s economic insertion in the world economy, based on the case study of a national capital company. The general objective of the thesis is to understand the logic of accumulation deployed by Molinos Río de la Plata in the period 2003-2015 in the light of the structural limitations of the Argentine economy and the changes in the accumulation logic of the agri-food sector globally. The questions that guide our research are: how did the recent changes in the world economy affect this company? Are there changes in the traditional export insertion of this company? What were the profitability strategies during the period analyzed? What are the returns in the different business segments? What is the role of intangible capital in this strategy? What were the company’s chances of deepening transnationalization and based on what strategy?
The specific hypotheses that guide this research are linked to the company's strategies during the period 2003-2015. The first hypothesis is that Molinos Río de la Plata reprimarized the composition of its exports during the period considered and obtained high returns thanks to this strategy. The second hypothesis is that Molinos Río de la Plata sought to position itself in oligopolistic markets with differentiated products through processed foods marketed with brands in order to capture higher profits; this strategy focused on mergers and acquisitions of other brands and / or companies. The third hypothesis is that Molinos Río de la Plata failed to expand its sales of branded products abroad due to certain limitations linked to the installation of a branded product in external markets, mainly related to high costs.
The results of the research will allow us to reflect on the company's strategies to maximize profits in the 2003-2015 period, taking into account the structural limitations of the Argentine economy as a peripheral or dependent economy and the new challenges imposed by the logic of global accumulation in the agri-food industry. In the first place, the importance of the bulk-food (o bulk-products) business in the profitability of Molinos Río de la Plata shows us, at the company level, a problem that is replicated in the macroeconomic dimension: the dependence of the export complex on agricultural commodities -especially of soybeans-, which reflects a structural dependence of the Argentine economy.
A second aspect is related to the business prospects of agribusiness companies and the possibilities of Argentina to become the “supermarket in the world”. Regarding the possibilities of Argentine businesses to expand their sales in foreign markets, there have been profound transformations in the mass consumption industry center countries that impose great challenges for countries such as Argentina: the growth of retail brands, channels of e-commerce, new patterns of differentiated consumption, etc. As we will see, producing food for the global market through brands requires large capital investments, which explains the market-power of food transnationals and large retail chains and the limitations of a sector of the national bourgeoisie in their attempts to grow and transnationalize.
In this sense, considering that a consequence of the role expected of the agribusiness sector is to transform our country into the “supermarket of the world” - and without entering into the detailed analysis of the consequences of our specialization, on which there is an extensive bibliography - the thesis will contribute, by the characteristics of the chosen company, elements on the reasonableness of this role.
Título obtenido
Doctora de la Universidad de Buenos Aires en Ciencias Sociales
Institución otorgante
Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales