Beef exports reached 51,000 tonnes of product weight, equivalent to 72,000 tonnes of beef weight, in March. It represents 6% higher than last month but 4% lower than those registered in the same period of 2021. “The recovery observed was concentrated in the category of frozen, deboned and bone and bone-in meats, which compensated for the decline in chilled meats,” said Mario Ravettino, president of the Consortium of Argentine Meat Exporters (ABC).

China’s traction, especially on bone-in products, has boosted overseas sales, and Israel has also had a positive impact. According to the ABC, exports of chilled meats have fallen compared to the previous month, but remained at a high level.

As ABC reported, since the restrictive measures are applied to Argentina’s meat exports, the average tonnage decreased by 13% and 23% comparing the average of the first months of last year and the second half of 2020, respectively. However, there was an increase of more than 30% in the average value, compared to both periods.

“If this recovery can be transferred to beef shipments, the total turnover of the sector will be madee would have widened between US $ 300 and US $ 700 millionwithout taking into account the broad factor that can be seen in the evolution of our competitors, which is unfortunately wasted ”, the exporters pointed out.

Destinations

As for sales destinations in Argentina, China continues to lead in demand but its participation is up from 80% before the restrictions to a floor of 64% in September and a percentage of 73% in the first quarter. of 2022.

In May 2021, exports to that country reached a maximum of 52,000 tonnes but after market interventions, they dropped to 28,000 and 25,000 tonnes in June and July 2021, respectively, in the range between of 30,000 and 36,000 tons in the coming months.

At the beginning of 2022, sales fell to 22,000 tonnes of boneless frozen meats, while bone-in products reached their lowest point since September 2020 (6,160 tonnes). In the last months of 2022, meanwhile, they reached 30,000 thousand and 9,000 tons.

The fall in this volume was reduced by rising prices: in the first quarter of 2022 it was US $ 5,633 dollars, i.e., US $ 1,800 dollars more per tonne than in 2021.

Hilton fee

Lack of property and logistical difficulties make it difficult to meet the Hilton Quota, for this reason, some companies have abandoned part of their contingent. This decrease in supply by Hilton cuts has contributed to the improvement of its prices until 2022.

On April 19, 22,102 tonnes were certified from a total reduced to 29,389 tonnes, because as a result of BREXIT, 111 tonnes were diverted to the United Kingdom, as exporters indicated. So far, 75% have been certified, leaving a balance of 7,287 tonnes.

EU quota 481

The certified total of EU Quota 481 in March was close to the record in September 2021. “2,040 tonnes were certified, as a result, Argentina reached an unprecedented number within this quota: 8,932 tons ”, they featured from ABC. The turnover for these sales was US $ 79 million, with a 10% improvement in the average price compared to 2021.

frozen meat

After the decline in frozen meat exports in January, sales began to rise, reaching 43,000 tonnes in March. China accounted for 88% of the total volume of frozen meat and almost the entire category contained frozen products with bones, down 14% compared to the first three months of 2021.

In the first quarter of the year, frozen meat exports reached 116 thousand tons with a turnover of 593 million dollars, an amount in which China and Israel participated with 93%.

US quotas

Foreign sales for this quota reported US $ 40 million at an average value of US $ 6,055 per tonne. As of April 18, 2022, 6,632 tons have been certified within the tariff quota granted by the United States (33% of its total), leaving a remaining 13,368 tons, indicating a compliance level of 11% which is higher than verified .a year ago.

Offal

In recent months, exports have been between 10,000 and 11,000 tons, 20% less than in 2020. As a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine, shipments of offal of cattle origin have significantly decreased, thus interrupting a relative improvement that was verified in the first month of 2022. In the first quarter, these sales left US $ 58 million, 5% less than the same period of 2021.