Strategies and hybrid dynamics of soy transnational companies in the southem cone

Abstract

Economical liberalization, market globalization and soy expansion stimulated theadvance of big transnational companies in the Southern Cone countries (Brazil,Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay). Currently, the main corporations acting on thelast links of the productive chain are ADM (Archer Daniels Midland), Bunge, Cargilland Dreyfus (the ABCDfirms), global leaders in the soy trade. The objective of thiscontribution is to analyze the different strategies these companies articulate in theSouthern Cone, and their dynamics in local space through market relations with localproducers. The results show the rapid and intense process of denationalization of thefirms in the soy productive chain as well as the high level of marketinternationalization and company concentration. In spite of this, this study shows thatall transnational power of ABCDfirms, which seems so abstract and intimidatingwhen seen in the global scale, depends on its basis of the formation, maintenance andexploration of relations of proximity, trust and reciprocity with local actors(especially rural producers), including family friendship linkages.