What are the major crops grown in South America and what kind of cash crops did they grow in the South?
The Spanish and Portuguese colonized South America.Spain and Portugal were able to make a lot of money from these colonies because they could not plant crops in Europe.Coffee and sugarcane are cash crops in South America that can be traded and sold in Europe.Cash crops were important in establishing the colonies in South America and are still important today.
Coffee is a major export for the South American economy.Coffee was a major draw for investors to colonize South America during the colonial era.Brazil is still the largest coffee producer in the world today.Coffee sales are not as profitable as they used to be.Coffee sales from South America have fallen because of cheaper coffee prices in other countries.It is difficult for local coffee farmers to compete with cheaper coffee from Vietnam in their own country.
Cane was an important cash crop in South America.When Brazil started the National Program of Alcohol, sugarcane production increased.The price of oil was extremely high.An alternative fuel source is made from sugarcane.It was not as expensive as gasoline and has environmental benefits, which made it popular.Flex-fuel vehicles were introduced in 2003 because of the use of ethanol.Flex-fuel vehicles are replacing other vehicles in South America, and they run on either pure ethanol or ethanol mixed with gasoline.Ninety percent of new cars sold in Brazil are flex-fuel vehicles, and Brazil is the leading market for sugarcane ethanol.