ARGENTINA: Beef exports plummet in Argentina to the lowest levels in decades as other countries now dominate the international market

Record ID: 447439

  • Title: ARGENTINA: Beef exports plummet in Argentina to the lowest levels in decades as other countries now dominate the international market
  • Date: 14th June 2013
  • Summary: ROSARIO, ARGENTINA (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF REFRIGERATOR OPERATORS LIFTING BEEF INTO A WALK-IN COOLER VARIOUS OF REFRIGERATOR OPERATORS CUTTING BEEF INTO PIECES VARIOUS OF REFRIGERATOR OPERATORS VACUUM-PACKING BEEF
  • Embargoed: 29th June 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Business,Industry
  • Reuters ID: LVA9H3AAQ8AFKDOLTNP0XS77UHPL
  • Story Text: Argentina is internationally known for its beef production, but the country's exports have plummeted to a 40-year low as other countries have stormed into the market.
    The South American nation has dropped from the No. 2 global beef exporter in 1980 to No. 11 in 2012, according to recent data compiled by the Observatory of Argentine Beef, as new players have ramped up their international exports and Argentine exports have declined.
    Argentina exported 183,000 tonnes of meat in 2012 -- about 2 percent of the world market and only slightly more than 2001, when the country experienced an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and faced the worst economic crisis in its history. The livestock sector blames government policies for the drop in production and export figures.
    Some in the livestock sector say the drop in Argentine exports is due in part to increased domestic consumption.

    "This is a trend that we have had for many years and basically, we understand, that this happens because the exportationup being the result of the quantity of meat that remains available and it is not consumed in the domestic market. The Argentine production (of meat) has been relatively stable for the past 40 years, with the increased domestic consumption due to population growth, what remains for export is declining," said Cristian Feldkamp, coordinator of the livestock area of the Argentine Association of Regional Consortia for Agricultural Experimentation.
    Despite this trend, exports were hurt in 2010 after a devastating drought in 2009 forced the widespread slaughter of animals. The Argentine government has also implemented tax measures and efforts to keep meat prices low for domestic consumption, resulting in smaller quantities of meat available for exports.

    "When politics allowed free sales and exportation of our product for what was exported, we produced more here and there was meat at more suitable prices for the family shopping baskets for Argentine citizens, there were plenty of jobs and the industry worked. And now, thanks to the obstacles that the government has put in place, the prohibitions of exporting, the export permits, in fact because there is nothing written, it created all this loss of profit, loss of competition that resulted practically in the disappearance of thousands of producers (of meat)," said Miguel Etchevehere, president of the Rural Society of Argentina.
    In Buenos Aires, the country's largest trading market for cows is also feeling the effects of government policies and say they are concerned about the current situation.

    "We saw the avalanche of liquidation of breeders (reproductive-age cows) and it seemed two years ago that a retention (of breeders) had begun, turning into a recovery when there was a rise in prices. Like two years ago the price stopped rising, that is, we continue at the same price, we have lost again this competitiveness and revenue is falling again and we are again seeing a liquidation and not a stock retention," said livestock agent Fernando Saenz Valiente.
    Meanwhile, Argentina has seen a boom in poultry production and consumption. The industry has seen strong government support in recent years and chicken consumption has risen. Beef remains the most consumed meat in the nation at about 60 kilograms per person per year in 2013, although per capita consumption has dropped somewhat from its historical average of 70 kilograms per year.

    "Traditionally it is said that the price of beef has a very large impact on the social mood, that people need to have adequate access to beef to be able to be happy. This is evidently good politics, no? That the people are happy, so what has traditionally happened is that it has been treated like a public good, it has been favoured through various methods, the domestic consumption traditionally, instead of adding value through exports," said Cristian Feldkamp of the Argentine Association of Regional Consortia for Agricultural Experimentation.
    India has surged to the No. 1 global exporter of beef, while other South American nations have also raced ahead of Argentina in terms of global exports. Brazil is the second largest exporter, while Uruguay is seventh and Mexico is tenth.
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