agroindustry

The notion of agroindustry refers to the group formed by the different industries that are linked to the farming. To understand what agribusiness is, therefore, we must first be clear about what the concepts of industry and agriculture refer to.

The industry is made up of the infrastructure and the different material and human resources that allow transform and process natural raw materials. Agriculture, for its part, consists of the activities carried out to till and cultivate the land in order to obtain these raw Materials.

Agribusiness, therefore, is a economic sector that includes the activities related to elaborate, transform and commercialize products agricultural type. In the broadest sense, agribusiness can be divided into food (transforms raw materials into food with different formats and properties) and non-food (The raw materials are used for different industrial processes that are not linked to food).

In addition to all the above, we cannot ignore the fact that agribusiness can be classified into other groups. Thus, for example, if we start from what the raw materials are in themselves, we come across the agroindustries that are suppliers of these and those that are directly consumers of them.

In the same way, if we use the destination of the products that they are responsible for offering as a criterion or parameter, we find two differentiated types:
-The agroindustries that are oriented to what is the export. Within these we also have to point out a subdivision, since they can be classified into two: those that export what are traditional products and those that do the same with products that are not traditional.
-The agroindustries that are focused on what is the internal market. In this case, we come across those that offer basic products and those that do the same but with products that are not considered basic.

An example of agribusiness is found with the production of beef for human consumption. The process It can include everything from raising cows in a field to producing hamburgers that are sold frozen, going through the slaughterhouse, obtaining the meat itself, processing, packaging and cold storage.

In the same way, we have to emphasize that, in recent years, in certain corners of Spain there has been a considerable increase in the number of agro-industries that specialize in the manufacture of Iberian sausages from the meat of the pigs that are raised following the highest quality mark.

The production of preserves and jams, the pasteurization of milk, the production of concentrated fruit juices, the obtaining of fishmeal and the manufacture of olive oil are just some of the processes that can be developed within the framework of an agro-industry.

Agribusiness is so important that in some countries, within their governments, there are specialized ministries in it. This would be the case, for example, in Argentina.