Beef sales in China, the main market, have plummeted over the past 25 days and the meat packaging industry is concerned. There is also fear for goods that are already on their way to their destination.

“There are no sales today“, warned the president of the ABC Consortium, Mario Ravettino. “We will have two or three complicated months with this market,” added the director of the chamber that brings together exporting refrigerators.

According to data from the Institute for the Promotion of Argentine Beef (IPCVA), 805,000 tons were exported in 2021 and China imported 600,000 tons, 75% of the total. And the 2,800 million dollars entered, of which 2,100 million corresponded to the Asian giant.

And so far this year, China continued to be the main destination for Argentine beef. In the first eight months of 2022, 418,000 tons were shipped around the world and the Chinese market accumulated 321,000 tons – 77% of the total -, which marked an increase of 11%.

In terms of the value of the currency entered, the main market in the period was China, with 1,600 million US dollars -65% of the total-, with an increase of 53%.

“We have such a terrible precedent from November to 2019 to July 2020. We hope this window doesn’t last that long,” Ravettino told Radio Cologne.

Among the reasons for this blocking of sales, Ravettino listed several factors, such as the devaluation of the yuan, the surplus of pork that caused the restriction of import licenses and the support for state credit that China grants to companies.

“Brazil sent 130,000 tons of beef in September and is preparing for another similar month. Brazilian beef costs $ 3.80 and allows it, thanks to its large quantity and immense stock, to be able to send these volumes in China, “ABC’s in-depth headline on another point to consider.

Ravettino made it clear that the meat that is sent to China it cannot be absorbed by another marketabove all, the domestic market, because basically what it exports to China. all categories of cow. “The Argentine consumer is used to consuming another type of category,” she said.