Cash+Crops+in+South+America

Cash Crops in the americas By: Loren G.

In the Old World in about the 1800’s, the highlands of Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador were importing coffee. The coffee was exported in great quantities from Colombia’s Cordillera Central. Some of the world’s highest-quality coffees are from Parana and Minas Gerais. Yerba Mate, the most notable native beverage, is brewed from leaves of a plant to the upper Parana basin. In the countries Paraquay, Brazil, and Argentina, Yerba Mate is grown and gathered on plantations. In Brazil and Colombia, tobacco is cultivated in these countries and is produced commercially. The most native South American spices are allspices and chill pepper, which are exported from Brazil.South America has a great variety of oil-producting plants. Babassu Palm is one of the plants, native to Brazil, whos nuts are used for making soap. The Carnauba Palm in Brazil is used for its leaves, mainy to produce vegetable waxes. In the Tagua Palm, which is found in northern South America, its seeds are used for vegetable ivory. In Brazil, coastal Peru, and Argentina, they grow cotton, which has been used for cloth since prehistoric times. Plants producing stem or leaf fibers, such as sisal or kapok, are extensively grown. A plant with the appearance of a stemless palm, the iraca, is cultivated in Colombia and Ecuador. The fibers from the young leaves are woven into Panama hats.