MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mercosur's beef production up; Argentina's output and consumption down

In addition, Argentina's beef exports went up as local consumers cannot afford the retail prices

Cattle slaughtering within the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) in the first seven months of this year reached nearly 27 million head, which represented a 2.05 million increase from the same period of 2023 as well as an all-time high.

Annual growth was estimated at 8.2% given a 20% expansion in Brazil and 6% increases in Uruguay and Paraguay each, despite a 9% yoy drop in Argentina. Meat production reached 6.82 million tons, with an annual growth of 374 thousand tons, or a 5.8% increase.

On the negative side, beef consumption fell to its lowest level in 26 years in Argentina after a 14.1% interannual nosedive amid a strong recession and a substantial drop in the population's purchasing power since the price only increased 1.4% in July.

According to the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Meats and Derivatives of the Argentine Republic (Cámara de la Industria y Comercio de Carnes y Derivados de la República Argentina - CICCRA), 1,779 billion tons of beef on the bone were produced in the first seven months of 2024 (-8.8% annually), which represented a drop in offer of 170.66 thousand tons.

Still, the country's meat exports amounted to 530,600 tons in the first seven months, a 7% interannual increase. Hence, local beef consumption would have fallen to 1.248 million tons, a 14.1% yoy reduction.

In the first seven months of the year, 362 establishments operated and slaughtered a total of 7.81 million head of cattle, which represented a decrease of 9.4% year-on-year (-10.0% when corrected for the number of working days; -809,800 head).