Soy Cultivation in Paraguay

Soy Cultivation in Paraguay has rapidly displaced the cultivation of other crops, pasture-based cattle ranching, and untouched virgin forests and grasslands. Most of the soy grown is GE soy. Much of it is then exported to China and Europe.

In 2008, five of the world's top 10 soybean producers were in South America: Brazil (2), Argentina (3), Paraguay (6), Bolivia (8), and Uruguay (9). For more information, see the article on Soybean Cultivation in South America.

Expansion of Soybean Cultivation
Soy was introduced to Paraguay in the 1960's, but the soy boom did not begin until the late 1990's. GE soybeans entered Paraguay illegally from Argentina in the 1999-2000 crop year.

Soy cultivation grew from 800,000 ha in 1995 to nearly 1.5 million ha in 2003. In the same period, production grew from 2.3 million tonnes to 4.5 million tonnes. Simultaneously, the number of small and medium-sized peasant farms fell by 20% and their production fell by half. By 2005/2006, a record 2.2 million hectares were planted in soy, producing 3.8 million tonnes. In 2008, the land devoted to soybeans grew even larger, to 2.4 million ha. That year, soybeans accounted for 38% of Paraguay's total agricultural output.

Soybean Exports
All data in this section comes from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's FAOSTAT database. Soybeans are exported in three forms: soybeans, cake of soybeans, and soybean oil. Since at least 1990, Paraguay has been the world's fourth largest exporter of soybeans. In 2008, soybeans were Paraguay's largest export (3,689,010 tonnes). That year, Paraguay exported 58% of its soybeans as unprocessed soybeans.

Continuing with the example of 2008, that year Paraguay's second largest export was cake of soybeans (1,489,670 tonnes) and its fifth largest export was soybean oil (416,868 tonnes). Assuming that each crushed soybean yields 80% meal (cake) and 18.3% oil, in 2008, Paraguay exported the equivalent of about 29% of its soybeans in the forms of cake and oil.

Year: Soybean exports
 * 1961: 265 tonnes
 * 1970: No data
 * 1980: 235,307 tonnes
 * 1990: 1,410,500 tonnes
 * 1995: 1,270,000 tonnes (unofficial figure)
 * 2000: 1,795,770 tonnes
 * 2001: 2,343,270 tonnes
 * 2002: 1,986,560 tonnes (unofficial figure)
 * 2003: 1,727,360 tonnes
 * 2004: 2,575,100 tonnes
 * 2005: 2,971,610 tonnes
 * 2006: 2,251,850 tonnes
 * 2007: 3,520,810 tonnes
 * 2008: 3,689,010 tonnes

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Biotechnology
 * Glyphosate
 * Herbicide Tolerant Crops
 * Genetically Modified Organisms
 * Monsanto
 * Bayer CropScience

External articles

 * David Vargas, "Fighting for Survival in a Green Desert Wonderland," IPS News, March 11, 2008.
 * David Vargas, "The Dark Side of the Soy Boom," IPS News, November 8, 2007.
 * April Howard and Benjamin Dangl, "The Multinational Beanfield War: Soy cultivation spells doom for Paraguayan campesinos," In These Times, April 12, 2007.