MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Horsemeat: Argentina main exporter of promising market

Horse meat is big in Russia, Holland and France

Argentina became in 2007 the world's leading exporter of horse meta, totaling 35.755 tons equivalent to 87.5 million US dollars, according to the latest report from the Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Secretary.

The main client for Argentine horse meat was Russia which took 14.834 tons valued at 25.4 million US dollars. Russia was followed by Holland and France. "Demand is sustained and strong; we can expect a good year for Argentine horse meat, given its quality, price and added value", said the official report. United States and Canada are the main world exporters behind Argentina. Apparently since 2002, there has been a steady increase in the number of horses slaughtered in the United States. In 2007, well over 120,000 American horses have been slaughtered for export to Belgium, France and other countries where horse meat is popular. But horsemeat eaters in Europe are concerned because of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (AHSPA) which has been pending in the US Congress for several years and in an electoral year candidates have promised to enforce it. However the number of US horses slaughtered has been declining. The trend became evident in the 1990s according to USDoA records: in 1990, 345,700 horses were slaughtered for export and ten years later in 2000 that number was 50,400. During this timeframe the number of horses slaughtered per year dropped by as many as 79,000.