The meat is “unique” in Argentina, and the traditional one marketing system for half of the beef practically also. The only country in the world that shares this method is Paraguay. That situation will change from November 1st, when it is mandatory to quarter animals into pieces weighing less than 32 kilos. Average carcasses can exceed 100 kilos.
A great incentive to make this historic change is i prices. Although there are conflicting opinions on the matter, those who promote its renewal They estimate that public values could drop between 10 and 15 percentespecially in cheaper cuts and in areas with less purchasing power.
“With the implementation of quartering, stores will receive the cuts that consumers buy the most and can get the meat they prefer, at an advantageous price ”, said Mario Ravettino, president of the Consorzio Esporatori Carni Argentini (ABC).
And he compared: “The product will be sold in lighter and smaller portions, an advance that allows to satisfy the demand of each butcher according to the preferences of the public. So far, with the meat marketed from half bovine, butchers run the risk of not selling all the cuts and this is passed on to the final price that people pay ”.
Across the counter butchers defend their slaughtering profession, convinced that much of the value lies in the cut of the side what they catch in the production-commercial chain that goes from fields to grills, steaks or pots.
Exporting refrigerators, who see in this change the possibility of reaching people with lower prices, as the Government understands, argue that “The half carcass system punishes consumption oriented towards popular cuts. A cut of 1700 dollars per kilo is subsidized at 236 dollars, while one for popular consumption, of 800 dollars, is subject to a surcharge of 160 dollars ”.
As for distribution locations, they claimed that the media carcass is inefficient and regressive: in a butcher’s shop you save 226 $ / kg if you buy peceto, but pay 160 $ / kg more for the common carnazaas explained by The economist Miguel JairalaABC consultant.
Together with Ravettino, they highlighted that “the transformation of some cuts into minced meat generates potential losses in purchasing power: turning loin into special ground beef implies a loss in catch value of $ 300 per kilogram“.
Bet on health
Meanwhile, the other big goal is to improve health. The Doctor of Veterinary Sciences and Conicet Researcher, Gerardo Leottaassured that the quartering system “guarantees greater health safetybecause it prevents the meat from dragging itself on the surfaces when it gets off the truck at the point of sale ”.
He considered that “it is a method that comes to modernize the industry and is the first step to arrive later to the sale by the cut”. And he stressed that it will take care of the health of the workers, who “they will stop carrying the half carcasses weighing 80 to 120 kilos on their backs”.
Other refrigerators, butchers and suppliers believe that time is running out for implementationthat the conditions for the entry into force of the standard do not exist and that the care of workers can be integrated with the use of mechanical tools that avoid the loading of high volumes.
However, after many unsuccessful attempts over decades, the joint resolution 4/2021 of the ministries of agriculture, labor and production development, extended twice, establishes that in less than a month the production of meat from the establishments of the territory destined at retail trade can only be made in pieces weighing less than 32 kilograms.
So, if there are no last minute changes, this year will be historic for Argentine meat, due to the change in two key aspects. The other milestone occurred in May, when the historic move of the Lineers Market was also carried out towards the current property in Cañuelas.
In both cases, these are modalities that have spanned centuries: the Mataderos enclosures have been active since 1901 and the half-carcass format dates back even further, a couple of decades ago, from the appearance of refrigerators.
Source: Clarin
