PRODUCTION CHAINS

As part of their strategy to develop the subregion’s agricultural sector, the Ministers of Agriculture of the Andean Community agreed in 1988 to identify the most important production chains for the subregion’s agriculture and to act forcefully within them. 

To facilitate this task, the Can General Secretariat decided to form Ad hoc Groups by production chains at the Andean level, made up of representatives of agricultural producers, agroindustry and the government of each of the Member Countries. 

The following groups have been set up thus far:  Rice, Sugar, Feed Grains – Balanced Feed – Poultry Breeding, and Food Grains.  A request has been submitted to form the Coffee Group and arrangements are being made to create the Oilseed Group. 

The purpose of these groups is to formulate recommendations to consolidate the Andean Customs Union, move toward creating the Common Market within the chain’s sphere of operation, and resolve cases of Community policy instrument management and operation.  Their function is also to design and on occasion follow-up subregional competitiveness programs for the chain as a whole. 

The Rice Group, established through Decision 455 (05-04-99), met three times in 1999, in Lima, Guayaquil, and Lambayeque. Its proposals were submitted to the Andean Agricultural Committee.

The Sugar Group was established by Resolution 376 (03-22-2000) and its life was extended by Resolution 494 (03-20-2001).  It has met four times: in Lima, Guayaquil and Cali in 2000 and in Lima in 2001. A Strategic Planning Workshop for the chain was held in August 2002, giving the Group a vision of the work it should accomplish. 

The Feed Grains – Balanced Feed – Poultry Breeding Group was set up through Resolution 403 (06-13-2000) and its duration was extended by Resolution 493 (03-20-2001).  It has met three times: in Lima in June 2000 and 2001 and in Cartagena in July 2001. A Strategic Planning Workshop was held for the chain in June 2001, allowing a Short-Term Working Program to be drawn up. 

This Group formulated recommendations that resulted in Decisions 496 to change the adjustment factor for hard yellow corn and 497 to include seasoned chicken parts in the chicken parts price band. 

The Food Grains Group was created by Resolution 530 (07-13-2001) and held its first meeting in Lima in August 2001. 

The work done in the Ad hoc Groups reveals the following:

·         Private sector representatives from the Member Countries are participating heavily, despite the fact that they have had to cover the cost of attending the meetings.   

·         There is more integration of each country’s public and private sectors because of the need to coordinate a country position in the Community negotiations.   

·         A relationship is consolidated at the subregional level among the private sectors in the different links of the same chain.  Common interests in facing similar problems have been able to be identified.

·         Issues connected with Andean integration and negotiations with third parties at the level of the concrete actors in those processes are better known and more widely disseminated.   

·         Recommendations have been put forward, some of which have been formalized in Commission Decisions and General Secretariat Resolutions.   

To conclude, the Ad Hoc Groups constitute a space for discussion and concerted decisions, with the participation of businessmen, who in that way can play a more direct role in the discussion and adoption of decisions about the various topics on the Andean integration agenda in the agricultural sector.