Argentine Beef Exports Halved Again

(mla.com.au) Very tight beef supplies and high retail prices in Argentina contributed to a 51% year-on-year fall in exports during 2010-11, to 151,872 tonnes swt. Moreover, export returns jumped 63% year-on-year, to average US$6,471/tonne - easily the highest on record for the period.

With the higher Argentine beef prices, the largest falls in exports were recorded to lower priced markets. Exports to Russia fell 76% year-on-year, to 26,737 tonnes swt, accounting for only 18% of total shipments, compared with 36% of the total in 2009-10.

Israel became Argentina's main export destination in 2010-11, despite shipments slipping 9% year-on-year, to 27,530 tonnes swt. Germany was Argentina's third largest market, falling 13% year-on-year, to 25,172 tonnes swt.

Although shipments under the European 'Hilton' high quality beef quota rose 52% in 2010-11 (due to a delay in the allocation distribution in 2009-10 which hampered trade), Argentina still failed to fill its 28,000 tonne quota allocation for the past year, exporting only 25,536 tonnes swt.