Buenos Aires (AFP)

Argentina has suspended its beef exports for thirty days in the hope of containing soaring prices in its domestic market, the government announced on Monday.

This decision was taken pending a "set of measures aimed at putting order in the functioning of the sector, restricting speculative practices and preventing tax evasion," the presidency said in a statement.

Argentina is the world's fourth largest exporter of beef, behind Brazil, Australia and India.

The country sold outside cattle products worth $ 3.37 billion in 2020, mainly to China, Germany and Israel.

On Sunday, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said he was "concerned" about the rise in food prices, which reached 65.3% in April 2021 compared to the same month of 2020, according to the Meat Promotion Institute Argentinian bovine.

"These price increases worry me a lot, they are inexplicable. I am determined to tackle this subject," Fernandez told C5N.

According to him, only "a crumb of 8,000 tons of beef" out of the 200,000 tons consumed each month in the country benefit from reduced prices under an agreement with large retailers.

Argentinian meat producers have rejected the freeze on foreign sales, as exports of agricultural products represent the main source of foreign exchange for the country.

"We will unite immediately to express a total rejection of this harmful measure," said Daniel Peregrina, president of the Argentine Rural Society, which brings together the major producers.

"The damage that this measure will cause will decrease the supply of meat, which will end up pushing up prices as has already been seen in the past," he added.

"The blocking of meat exports is a mistake. A step backwards for the development and growth of livestock," tweeted the organization Confederations Rural Argentina (CRA).

Struck by the Covid-19 pandemic, Argentina's economy contracted by 9.9% in 2020, and around 42% of the population live in poverty.

The government has launched a major economic aid program, involving a large issue of currency.

According to the statistics institute Idec, the cost of living in the country has increased by 46.3% in the last twelve months.

Officially, the inflation target for this year is 29%.

© 2021 AFP