Between the Comparative advantages of Chile They stand out as being a food and tourism power and one of the main copper producers in the world.
This southern country of the world presents a unique geomorphology, with a long strip of land surrounded by sea, islands and Andes mountains , As well as having sovereignty in Antarctica.
The Republic of Chile, whose capital is Santiago, is a developing country with more than 18 million inhabitants, according to the 2002 Census.
It has a GDP per capita that has had a sustained growth, with high rates of literacy and quality of life. In addition, it presents an economic model that connects globally, with more than 50 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).
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Comparative advantages of Chile with respect to other Latin American countries
1- Sustained growth
According to data from the Chilean government, this country has an open and stable neoliberal economic model that favors trade and strengthens foreign investment.
GDP growth over the last seven years has been significant. Although it has shown casualties, the country has grown by an average of 3%.
Since 1990, Chile has been developing its economy. In 1992 it reached 12% of GDP and in 2010, it marked 6%. The highest figures. While the Asian Crisis in 1998 and then the Subprime in 2008, explain the falls, they were not as significant, in analogy with the rest of the countries.
The Chilean model is prominent in the rest of the world. Hence, it is a comparative advantage over other Latin American countries. The slogan: is saved in times of boom and stimulates social investment in times of crisis.
Chile has low external debt and has been able to overcome natural disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, alluviums and, recently, serious forest fires. Still it stays stable.
However, it has flaws. "Despite strong economic growth, Chile remains a highly unequal society in terms of income, wealth and education,"says a study by the ODCE, which diagnoses the reality of this country.
2- Food power
Another advantage of Chile is that it is a food power. After copper mining, agriculture represents one of the economic activities that brings you more resources.
At the level of the southern hemisphere, it is one of the relevant actors of the food trade, according to the website El Economista.
It supplies raw materials for food and healthy and safe food, with fruits, vegetables, vegetables and legumes, which it sends to countries of the five continents.
The Chilean country is the leading global exporter of fruits such as grapes, blueberries and fresh cherries, apples and dehydrated plums. In fish, it also plays an important role in the overseas market, especially in whole and frozen salmon, and mussels.
"The main characteristics of the autochthonous food parcel are its quality, safety, traceability, international guarantee and natural flavor,"argues the specialist.
Globally, Chile ranks second in the market for shelled nuts, fresh plums and hazelnuts.
The fertility of the lands highlights, with unique climate, clear skies, fresh water reserves and protection of geographical condition, that define Chile as"phytosanitary island".
3- Territorial diversity
Chile is a tricontinental country. The above is plotted as follows: it has islands and archipelagos; Such as Easter Island (of the continent of Oceania), Chiloé and the Juan Fernandez Archipelago, belong to the American continent. In addition, it owns territory in Antarctica.
Therefore, it is said, geopolitically, that the Chilean territory is tricontinental. In addition, Chile is characterized by having the most arid desert in the world: the Atacama desert and having the"wall"east limit, the Andes mountain range.
But it also has extended sea along its coastal territory of the Pacific Ocean; Native forests in southern Chile; Glaciers such as Laguna de San Rafael, and at the southern end has national parks such as Torres del Paine,
This is clearly a comparative advantage, since it makes it an attractive country for tourism, investment and connects it with the world, as a unique nation, in terms of its territorial diversity.
4- Tourism boom
Only in January 2017, Chile visited almost one million foreign tourists. The reason is the territorial variety, which makes the country an area rich in biodiversity, with unique flora and fauna, on this side of South America.
The Undersecretariat of Tourism of the Ministry of Economy of the Government of Chile made a balance in February 2017. The result of the analysis showed that in January 964,027 foreigners entered. This represents a 32% increase compared to the same period of the previous year.
It should be noted that this increase was mainly due to the growth of Argentine tourists, which reported a rise of 46% (647,955), compared to January 2016.
And this tendency has been seen in the last 5 years in boom, as a favorite tourist destination of Europeans, Latinos and Americans. Margin that should be repeated in the summer of 2018.
5- First country to join the OECD of South America
Although in Chile it is not yet a developed country, in the last 20 years it has shown sustained growth in reducing poverty, dropout levels and growing public infrastructure.
Hence, it is the first South American country to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Chile has one of the Latin American economies that has reported a sustained GDP in two decades, which made it worthy to enter this to the international body.
However, despite showing signs of progress in reducing poverty reduction, it still has a debt to social inequality and poor income distribution.
6- Great copper producer
Chile is a world producer of copper. Owns the state miner Codelco (National Copper Corporation of Chile), with several mines throughout the country, but also cohabiting transnational corporations that have made this resource the largest income in the country.
In 2011 alone, Chilean copper mining accounted for more than a third of world copper production, with a total production of 5.3 million tonnes of copper, according to the Rankia website.
Without going any further, more than 19% of Chile's public revenues come from copper production. For this reason, this industry is the most important at the national level.
Codelco is the world's largest copper producer. The year 2012 produced 1.75 million tons. In addition, it controls about 9% of the world's reserves of this metallic mineral.
On the other hand, the mining company Antofagasta Minerals of the Luksic group is the fifth largest producer of copper in the whole world.
7- Population growth and arrival of immigrants
This year in Chile, next April 19 will be held the 2017 Census. Event sponsored by the Government of Chile, but launched by the Ministry of Economy, through the National Statistics Institute (INE).
This will determine how many Chileans live today, in addition to knowing the number of immigrants. In the last 3 years, a large number of mass population has arrived from Venezuela, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and Brazil, due to internal problems of those nations.
These people are looking for an opportunity that Chile offers them, which makes it a more cosmopolitan and integrated country.
According to INE, Chile has a population that exceeds 18 million inhabitants. After this year's measurement, the agency projects a population that could exceed 23 million people plus one million resident immigrants.
8- Open Economy
Chile is actively involved in the"Global Village". It has one of the most open economies on the planet.
It all began in the early 1990s when Chile returned to democracy after 17 years of dictatorship. Augusto Pinochet .
Since then, the country has opened up to the world and has launched a series of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), with Latin American nations, but also with the rest of the world.
It highlights the trade ties it entered into with the largest economies: China, the United States and the European Union.
Until now, the FTAs signed by Chile, allow it to have free access to the main markets of the world; Reaching more than 4200 million people located in the five continents. It counts until today 21 commercial agreements with more than 50 countries.
9- Fishing country
Another comparative advantage is that it is a fishing country. The extension of its coasts exceeds 4,300 km, within its exclusive economic zone (200 nautical miles), according to the Ministry of Economy of Chile.
Within this space, there are high productivity ecosystems, which is a plus for the country, which is positioned as a producer of valued and demanded fishery resources in world markets.
As a result, Chile has been among the top ten countries with the highest fishing landings.
In the last 40 years, there has been a jump in infrastructure, where the public and private sectors have played a significant role in the development of the activity. "Adjustments have been made to policies and strategies that are reflected in legal modifications,"explains the Ministry of Economy.
Species such as salmon, horse mackerel, anchovy and hake are the most commonly sent abroad. Along with these, the crustaceans are the most exported, mainly to China.
According to Open Letter, these shipments"have gone up in the last three years, from UIS millions exported in 2014, to US millions in 2016, this is a 52% increase in value exported in the last two years."
References
- Study:"Annual Report on Foreign Trade of Chile"(2014-2015). Department of Studies Directorate General of International Economic Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Chile.
- Study:"Economic growth in Chile: evidence, sources and perspectives"(2005). From Gregory, Joseph. Public Editions, Government of Chile, Santiago.
- Study:"Economic Studies of the OECD; Chile"(2015). Better Policies Program for a Better Life. Made by experts from the ODCE.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Chile abroad. Retrieved from: chile.gob.cl.
- New record: almost one million tourists arrived in Chile in January. Retrieved from: t13.cl.
- Tomás Pablo R. Chile exports food to markets on five continents. Recovered from: eleconomistaamerica.cl.
- Sisternes, A. The world's largest copper producers. Retrieved from rankia.com.
- Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism. Recovered from: economia.gob.cl.
- Bío Bío Region increases export value of marine products by 52%. Recovered from: cartaabierta.cl.