- Title: ARGENTINA: Fame of Argentine steak helps bovine genetics exports
- Date: 15th September 2010
- Summary: VARIOUS OF BULL MOUNTING HEIFER
- Embargoed: 30th September 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Argentina
- Country: Argentina
- Topics: Industry
- Reuters ID: LVABGNYQI7IIDD6SPBQWPKTVGWCO
- Story Text: Argentina's Pampas plains are famous for being the breeding and feeding grounds of the South America country's renowned beef, and now other nations are looking to dip into the gene pool.
With newly affluent consumers from Brazil to China eating more meat, Argentine ranchers are honing their centuries-old cattle-breeding traditions to meet growing global demand for semen, embryos and genetics know-how.
Here at Las Lilas farm, ranch hands work daily to prepare samples of semen that will sell as far as away as China. The 65 breeding bulls -- called studs -- graze in individual pens divided by electric fences to stop them from fighting.
Meanwhile, workers prepare plastic tubes with hot water in which they whisk away the semen before the animals get the chance to mount the cows paraded before them.
This bull, Montecristo, tips the scales at more than a ton. But while Montecristo would yield a lot of prime Argentine steak, ranchers are not interested in sending bulls like him to slaughter -- his semen is far more valuable.
Mariano Etcheverry, the head of Argentina's chamber of bovine genetics, said importers know what they are shooting for.
"Many of the countries that buy from us know about the final product these genes will produce. Because of this, advertising is easy. These countries want to have meat similar to Argentina's," he said.
Nowhere is the country's ranching past more evident than at La Rural show, a showcase for the industry where farm hands spend hours preening and pampering cattle in hope of a potentially lucrative rosette.
Hundreds of thousands of visitors mill around the show to gaze at the carefully coiffed cattle. But beyond the tourist spectacle, breeders strike big-money deals and swap expertise.
The other way to test the quality of Argentine beef is in one of the hundreds of steakhouses throughout the country. In the capitol Buenos Aires, a lunch or dinner with several different cuts of local beef is a ritual.
Aided by the fame of the Argentine steak, breeders say exports to Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay have surged in recent years as strong economic growth in South America swells the ranks of the middle-class. Some have also found new markets in Colombia and Venezuela.
But it is China's interest in Argentine bovine genetics that is rousing big hopes among breeders in Argentina, which already sends most of its soybean exports to the Asian giant.
"China is interested in buying genetics. As we all know, they are a very large population and demand a lot of meat. They made a preliminary visit and will make other visits in the future," said Guillermo Garcia, head of Las Lilas Genetica, which lies near the country town of Duggan some 80 miles (125 km) from Buenos Aires.
Argentine companies still trail their competitors in the United States or Canada in market share, but local breeders say they have carved out a niche among ranchers looking for cattle that yield lean, protein-packed beef on relatively low feed.
Once the semen has passed quality checks, it is diluted to make up to 300 doses that are kept in liquid hydrogen and sold for around $10 each, although the price can go up to $50 if the animal has a good breeding record.
The samples are carefully labeled so breeders can examine details of the bulls' size, weight and estimates of how much feed their calves will need or how tender their meat is likely to be.
Exports of Argentine bovine semen have increased nearly ten-fold in the last decade, in part thanks to the devaluation of the peso currency after a 2001/02 economic crisis.
"The export of bull semen has practically increased by almost 10 times and the export of embryos has increased by several times," Etcheverry added.
Argentina was the world's No. 4 beef supplier in 2009, shipping 653,000 tons to markets including Russia and the European Union.
But for Asian or African nations aiming to add protein-rich food to their diets, importing Argentine beef is pricey. Buying genetics allows them to boost the quality and quantity of beef produced at home at a fraction of the cost. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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