Soy Without Borders: The Transnational Dynamics of Commodity Frontiers In South America (1971-2019)

Abstract

The rapid growth of soybean production and exports over the past five decades has transformed vast regions in South America. Five countries in particular - Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay - are amongst the ten largest soy producers in the world. Taken together, they have been called the United Republic of Soy or Soylandia due to similarities in the socio-environmental drivers and consequences of soy production between their territories. This article analyses the nature of soy production and exports in Soylandia as a window into the nature of transnational commodity frontiers. We draw on data from FAOSTAT and the Observatory of Economic Complexity to show how the commodity frontier of soy has expanded over time within and between these five countries, as well as the importance of ecoregions in shaping that expansion. We argue that more attention should be paid to the socio-environmental drivers and consequences of agricultural commodity frontiers that transcend traditional understandings of national borders.