| Year. | Number of Tons Exported. | Value. |
| 1895 | 494 | £24,720 |
| 1896 | 903 | 45,160 |
| 1897 | 600 | 29,980 |
| 1898 | 927 | 46,320 |
| 1899 | 1,179 | 58,980 |
| 1900 | 1,056 | 52,740 |
| 1901 | 1,510 | 75,500 |
| Year. | Number of Tons Exported. | Value. |
| 1902 | 4,125 | £253,580 |
| 1903 | 5,350 | 426,580 |
| 1904 | 7,459 | 423,560 |
| 1905 | 5,393 | 431,460 |
| 1906 | 4,405 | 352,400 |
| 1907 | 3,035 | 242,800 |
| 1908 | 3,550 | 284,000 |
These figures are sufficiently satisfactory, but they are far from representing the possibilities of the future, when the improvement of breeds and the establishments of new creameries will permit of the manufacture of butter on a far larger scale.
Among the present stock of 30,000,000 cattle there ought to be a proportion of at least 45 per cent. of milch cows, or 12 millions; at the very least 8 millions. Counting upon a daily yield of 17·6 pints of milk per cow, valued, in its original state or in the form of butter or cheese, at 2d. per litre, or 1·136d. per pint, we obtain a sum of £64,000 per diem, or £23,000,000 per annum.
But these calculations are purely theoretical. One thing, however, we can say to the credit of the country, and that is that its dairy industry is admirably adapted to the requirements of a great city such as Buenos Ayres, which must perforce obtain that essential aliment, milk, under the most favourable conditions of price and quality. An extremely perfect equipment enables the industry to utilise its by-products. The problem is not whether the Argentine can produce such a quantity of butter, but to whom it can sell it, for in America Brazil is its only customer, while in Europe it has to struggle against the competition of such countries as France or Switzerland, which countries it would be difficult to displace.
As for cheese, we quote only from memory; its production is practically limited by local requirements. The most important establishment in this line is that belonging to Señores A. & R. Luro, on their estate, San Pascual del Moro. Here the “moro” cheese is made, an imitation of the Roman cheese, which is consumed in large quantities by the Italian colony.
Breweries.—Although not directly dependent upon the produce of the soil, since the country produces no hops, and,
very little barley, we will nevertheless mention the industry of brewing, as one which is at present in a prosperous condition. It is undertaken by a number of limited liability companies, of which the most important, due to the initiative of M. Bemburg, is the Brasserie Argentine de Quilmes, a French company with a capital of £360,000, which brews about 3,960,000 gallons of the 8,360,000 gallons consumed by the nation.
Next, with a much smaller output, comes the Bieckert Company, with a capital of £362,880, and an output (in 1904) of 1,349,390 gallons; the Cerveceria Palermo, with a capital of £132,000, and an output of 1,264,690 gallons; the Rio Segundo, in the Province of Córdoba, with a capital of £80,000, and an output of 423,810 gallons; and the Fabrica Nacional de Cerveza, with a capital of £120,000, and an output of 540,540 gallons.