Buenos Aires, October 2, 2025 (IICA) – At a meeting in Buenos Aires of the ministers of agriculture who make up the Southern Agricultural Council (CAS), a paper was presented that underlined the crucial role that the region plays in global food security.
According to a yearbook compiled at the request of the ministers by researchers from a number of countries, the value of exports of agricultural goods from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay topped USD 227 billion in 2024. The data was presented and analyzed at the meeting.
In 2024, the CAS countries accounted for 14% of global trade in agricultural goods, the yearbook revealed.
The research reflects a growing trend in the region’s overall share of exports of agricultural products to the rest of the world over the medium term, which increased from 12% to 14% in five years.
At the meeting, the ministers and other senior agricultural officials also exchanged updated information on transboundary pests and diseases that pose a threat to agricultural production, and agreed to strengthen mutual collaboration and technical cooperation as part of their countries’ joint efforts to tackle the problem.
Senior officials from the Southern Cone Plant Health Committee (COSAVE) and the Southern Cone Standing Veterinary Committee (CVP) presented technical reports on the situation in the countries with regard to the fruit fly and avian influenza, respectively, which were discussed with the ministers.
The CAS, whose technical secretariat is operated by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), is a forum for consultations and the coordination of regional actions comprised of the ministers of agriculture of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. Over its more than 20-year history, it has played a key role in defining the common agricultural agenda.
Discussion at the Grain Exchange
The participants in the meeting, which was held at the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange, were Sergio Iraeta, Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Argentina and President pro tempore of the CAS; Alfredo Fratti, Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries of Uruguay; María Ignacia Fernández, Minister of Agriculture of Chile; Cleber Soares, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil; and Liliana Miranda, General Director of Planning at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Paraguay. Also involved was IICA’s Representative in Brazil, Gabriel Delgado, who serves as the forum’s technical secretary on behalf of the inter-American organization specializing in agricultural and rural development.
The participants exchanged information about the sector’s role at COP30 in Belem do Pará, which will be held in November, and where IICA will have a pavilion called the Home of Sustainable Agriculture of the Americas.
They also discussed the meeting of the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA) due to take place next month, at which a new Director General of IICA will be elected.
Before the CAS meeting, Ministers Fernández and Fratti, Deputy Minister Soares, and Secretary Iraeta participated in a discussion in the auditorium of the Grain Exchange on the outlook for the agriculture sector in the Southern Cone, which was attended by a large audience of farmers and organizations linked to rural areas.
In their remarks, they emphasized the importance of agricultural production for CAS countries from an environmental and social perspective, and the crucial role that science and innovation are playing in the quest for greater productivity and resilience.
“We are committed to public-private collaboration to boost investment in science and technology. The important thing is that this investment reach not only large producers but also small-scale ones. As well as being an ethical issue, this results in better access to nutritious, quality food for everyone”, said Minister Fernández, who took office in August.
Minister Fratti highlighted the environmental sustainability of Uruguayan agricultural production. “We are clear”, he said, “that the land is not ours. We have borrowed it from our children and we must take care of it for future generations. We are champions in the production of environmentally responsible food”.
Deputy Minister Soares emphasized the role of biofuels in energy diversification and the adding of value to agricultural production in Brazil: “Today, 80% of Brazil’s energy mix is clean, and biofuels are key. This year, we have reduced diesel consumption by 15% and gasoline by 30% with biofuels. This demonstrates the importance of the public policies Brazil has developed for the sugarcane chain, and oilseed chains such as soybeans”.
“In Argentina”, Secretary Iraeta explained, “we have the advantage of phenomenal soil, an exceptional climate, and extraordinary farmers who have remained competitive despite the often unfavorable macroeconomic situation. We are now beginning to copy the work of other countries that has produced positive results. Argentina must once again become an export powerhouse. We are sowing the seeds for ourselves and for the world”.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
