Fruit Growing in the Alto Valle (High Valley) in Rio Negro: Origin, Boom and Bust, 1930-1965

Abstract

The fruit growing activity in the area of Alto Valle (High Valley) in the province of Rio Negro, Argentina, is a productive model that is –at current– going through critical times, as a result of the socio-economic deterioration and the disappearance of regional small producers. Nevertheless, we should bear in mind that such activity, which began in the 1930’s, went through times of growth and prosperity, building itself as the main agricultural activity of the region’s economy during the first decades. The purpose of the current article is to explain different economic and political events occurred during the history of fruit growing, which contributed to create a vulnerable scenario for small and mid-sized producers, and which became evident during the decade after 1955. In this sense, it is argued that the main reason for this vulnerability is the historical construction of an asymmetrical relationship between trading companies and producers.