Argentina suspends beef exports
Audio 01:45
A row of beef pieces in a slaughterhouse.
Thomas Bjørkan / wikimedia.org
By: Marie-Pierre Olphand Follow
5 mins
When the price of beef soars in Argentina, the entire population suffers: the country is the largest consumer of meat in the world.
To regulate prices on the domestic market, the government has just suspended exports for 30 days.
Publicity
It is a temporary measure.
The time to put in place a device to restore order to the Argentine market, explains the government.
But even temporary, this announcement is very badly received by meat producers who are currently benefiting from high export prices.
It is "
a step backwards for the development and the growth of the breeding
", moreover immediately commented the organization Confederations rural Argentina.
In one year, the prices of beef sold locally have jumped.
But meat is the staple food in the country: between 40 and 50 kg of consumption per person per year, depending on the sources, while the European average is 14 kg.
And in an already very difficult local economic context - the cost of living has increased by 46% over the past twelve months - if the price of meat increases, daily life quickly becomes problematic and a potential source of contestation.
Hence the decision of the authorities, which does not surprise the good connoisseurs of the country.
"
Argentina is an alternation of opening and closing by a system of customs duties on export,
" explains one of them.
China imposes itself on the meat market
This price increase is not so “
inexplicable
” as President Alberto Fernandez says. The main reason is Chinese appetite. A quarter of the meat consumed in the world today is consumed by China. "
It's been ten years since the Chinese arrived on the international meat market
", explains Jean-Paul Simier, economist and specialist in the meat market who confides that he never imagined Beijing drying up the market to such an extent. meat.
The Chinese buy everywhere, be it pork, beef, mutton or poultry.
Illustration of a change in eating habits, but also a consequence of repeated health accidents: avian flu, swine fever.
The Chinese herd has been decimated in recent years.
Meats from South America that used to go to Europe now go mostly to Asia.
Likely increase in international prices
Faced with the incredible Chinese demand, Argentinian meat exports have grown steadily in recent years - 80% share in China - while local production remains virtually stable, in particular because of the increase in surface areas. soybean cultivation, which reduces the land available for grazing.
Less product available automatically means a tighter local market.
The measure taken by the authorities should rebalance supply and demand in the domestic market, and do good for Argentines' wallets even if it is difficult to say in what proportion.
“
On international prices, this should have an inflationary effect
,” adds Jean-Paul Simier, because it is a major supplier to China which will be absent for a month.
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