Page 155 - Mocarelli, Luca, and Aleksander Panjek. Eds. 2020. Maize to the People! Cultivation, Consumption and Trade in the North-Eastern Mediterranean (Sixteenth-Nineteenth Century). Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 155
buckwheat or maize? ultimately, potatoes!
Graph 11. Maize production in Slovenia in the interwar period
Source: Maček 1993, 33-34.
long-term growth in maize production could be explained with two fac-
tors. One of the factors was the international market, as Yugoslavia was
one of the largest exporters of maize to the neighbouring countries, in the
form of grain or live animals fed with maize. In the long-term, maize pric-
es did not fluctuate as much as wheat prices, and the high level of demand
remained stable. According to the studies of the period, the costs of maize
were also relatively lower in comparison with those of wheat, although it re-
quired greater labour. At the same time, the relationship between the rela-
tive prices of maize and wheat tilted in favour of maize, as attested by the
data from the areas in the Pannonian Plain that had the greatest influence
over the formation of price relationships because most of the maize intend-
ed for the market was produced there (Vojvodina, Slavonija). In the 1930s,
the ratio between the relative prices of wheat and maize amounted to 1.7:1,
in line with the long-term values from the nineteenth century, as is also
evident from Valenčič’s calculations (Valenčič 1977, 163-202). On the other
hand, the ratio between the yields of these two crops was 1:1.7 in favour of
maize. In such circumstances, the increase of maize’s share in the agricul-
tural economy was evident (Tomasevich 1955, 482-488).
In the new macro-economic environment, the expansion of areas ded-
icated to maize also increased in Slovenia (Graph 11), although to a sig-
nificantly lesser degree than in the other parts of the state. The areas ex-
153
Graph 11. Maize production in Slovenia in the interwar period
Source: Maček 1993, 33-34.
long-term growth in maize production could be explained with two fac-
tors. One of the factors was the international market, as Yugoslavia was
one of the largest exporters of maize to the neighbouring countries, in the
form of grain or live animals fed with maize. In the long-term, maize pric-
es did not fluctuate as much as wheat prices, and the high level of demand
remained stable. According to the studies of the period, the costs of maize
were also relatively lower in comparison with those of wheat, although it re-
quired greater labour. At the same time, the relationship between the rela-
tive prices of maize and wheat tilted in favour of maize, as attested by the
data from the areas in the Pannonian Plain that had the greatest influence
over the formation of price relationships because most of the maize intend-
ed for the market was produced there (Vojvodina, Slavonija). In the 1930s,
the ratio between the relative prices of wheat and maize amounted to 1.7:1,
in line with the long-term values from the nineteenth century, as is also
evident from Valenčič’s calculations (Valenčič 1977, 163-202). On the other
hand, the ratio between the yields of these two crops was 1:1.7 in favour of
maize. In such circumstances, the increase of maize’s share in the agricul-
tural economy was evident (Tomasevich 1955, 482-488).
In the new macro-economic environment, the expansion of areas ded-
icated to maize also increased in Slovenia (Graph 11), although to a sig-
nificantly lesser degree than in the other parts of the state. The areas ex-
153
