MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Partial lifting of beef export ban in Argentina

The Argentine government announced a partial lifting of the ban on beef exports which was imposed last March with the purpose of forcing prices down in the domestic market.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Economy said that the decree to be signed by President Nestor Kirchner authorizes exporters to sell overseas up to 40% of the volume of beef shipped between June first and November 30 of last year. The ban on by products was completely lifted.

The spokesperson added that the ban on overseas sales, together with other prices' regulatory measures helped increase the supply of beef to the domestic market and lower inflationary expectations.

Over the past four years, the price of beef has risen 168 percent in Argentina, while inflation in that period was 75 percent.

The ban imposed last March was for a tentative period of 180 days. Argentina's beef exports in 2005 reached 1.4 billion US dollars.

On Thursday Argentine ranchers staged protests in two cities of the interior of the country and threatened to launch a general strike in rural areas if their demands were not met, among which an end to the beef export ban.

However farmers' leaders tried to downplay the impact of the protests which coincided with the massive political rally in Buenos Aires Plaza de Mayo in support of President Kirchner's administration's three years.

Argentine Rural Confederations leader Mario Llambias said that "this gathering does not seek to confront any other plaza, but instead seeks the unity of all Argentines." The ranchers' leader noted "the commitment of producers to finding a way out of the beef conflict" and their desire to reach a "solution beyond the protests."