Tuesday March 28, 2023 | 10:45 a.m.
In the first two months of this year, refrigerated and frozen beef exports were close to 103 thousand tons of product weight and generated revenues of USD 421.5 million. The volumes sold to the world represented a rise of 19.3%, with China as the main destination, and in value they were 13.4% lower. This was reflected in the monthly report of the Consortium of Argentine Meat Exporters (ABC).
To all this, during the past month the volume exported was almost 51,500 tons by product weight, for an amount of the order of USD 211.3 million. In relation to the month of January, the report highlighted that the volumes traded presented a slight rise of 0.3%, while the value obtained showed an increase of 0.5%. And when making the interannual comparison, the volume was 8% higher and the values a fall of 22.3%.
Mario Ravettino, president of the Consortium of Argentine Meat Exporters, stated that “China is the main export destination, both for last February and for the accumulated of the first two months of the year. In February alone, 8,900 tons of bone-in and bone-in bovine meat were shipped to China, worth USD 11.6 million, and more than 30,400 tons of boneless beef, worth USD 113 ,8 million”. In addition, he pointed out that the aforementioned market represented 75.6% of the exported volumes in the first two months of the year, where the average sales price was around USD 3,740 per ton, representing a clear downward path from the maximum of USD 5,900 per ton obtained in May 2022.
According to the ABC Consortium report, “in recent months, there has been a persistent downward trend in prices in the main destinations from May onwards; and the average USD 4,102 per ton obtained in the month of February is USD 2,200 per ton below the maximum registered in the month of April”. Likewise, refrigerated meat obtains a better price in the international market. In February 2023, Argentina exported 7,800 tons of refrigerated beef, worth USD 59.5 million. The average price of refrigerated boneless beef exports was close to USD 7,660 per ton.
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In addition, the exported volumes of deboned chilled meat decreased by 12.7% compared to the previous January, and was 3.8% lower than the volume shipped in February 2022. The main export destinations for chilled meat in February 2023 were the European countries (with shipments of about 4,100 tons for a value of USD 35.4 million), Israel (with the sale of 1,600 tons, for about USD 9.6 million), and Chile (with the export of 1,400 tons , for USD 9.8 million).
Lastly, the Consortium report highlighted that exports of offal and beef-based preparations for the month of February 2023 totaled a volume of 11.7 thousand tons, worth USD 16 million. The average export price of these products was slightly below USD 2 1,370 per ton, with peaks above USD 3,900 for bovine tongues. In the first two months of 2023, sales of bovine offals and preparations rose to a volume of 22.8 thousand tons, for a value of USD 30.9 million.
