Mercosur's beef production up; Argentina's output and consumption down
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.
8/21/2024
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).