Dutch companies on a mission in Argentina
Progress in pig farming offers opportunities The Argentinian pig industry has been on the rise for years, presenting interesting possibilities for Dutch businesses. To harness these, a business cluster supported by the government is showing a strong presence in the South American country.
The Rabobank calculated a few years ago that pig production in Argentina had increased by more than 70 percent between 2011 and 2016. In 2017, the bank forecast that the average annual consumption of pork in that country would grow from 11 kg per person in 2015 to 18 kg in 2025. On top of the higher domestic consumption, Argentina has been increasing its market presence on the international stage, not least because the Chinese market opened up to Argentinian pork in 2019.
© Nooyen Pig Flooring, lid van het bedrijvencluster
Within this fast-growing Argentinian market, there is a need for more knowledge and new technology in areas such as animal feed, animal housing, agro-logistics and feeding systems. Other areas of interest are closed-loop agriculture and environmental and animal welfare aspects. Our country has an abundance of expertise in all these fields. So it’s no surprise that Dutch companies want to gain a foothold on Argentinian pig farming soil. “Several companies had already shown interest in entering this market together for some time,” says Marcel Knoors of the National Office for Entrepreneurial Netherlands (RVO). “In fact, a few agricultural trade missions have already been organized in
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recent years. The demand from the Dutch business community then led to a concrete programme.” Ambitions That programme is called Partners for International Business (PIB), which enables companies to realize their international aspirations through a public-private partnership. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency is responsible for implementing PIB on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Knoors is one of the programme managers at the Netherlands Enterprise Agency. “With PIB, we offer the frameworks and possibilities for the participating companies. Being a government agency, our role is mainly organisational and supportive and we ensure that companies and institutions are able to find each other.” On 1 September 2020, the parties involved met via Microsoft Teams and signed a cooperation agreement in the form of a covenant. The public-private partnership focuses on knowledge exchange, network building and positioning the Dutch business community in Argentina. Through the provision of knowledge, skills and technology, they can optimize the
