MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguay exported more beef than Argentina in 2010

Punished by government policy Argentina is lagging in meat production and the cattle herd has contracted significantly

Paraguay overtook Argentina as beef exporter in 2010 confirming the country’s loss of leadership in the world’s meat markets, according to reports in the Argentine and Paraguayan media.

“Argentina exported just one of out ten kilos of its beef production in 2010, the lowest percentage since the foot and mouth disease of a decade ago, placing the country, which once was the world’s leading supplier at the bottom half of the top ten list”, published Buenos Aires daily Clarin.

The report adds that Uruguay had already overtaken Argentina in 2008 and 2009 and “now Paraguay in 2010”, according to the Argentine Meats Industry Chamber, CICCRA, the worst export performance since the dramatic 2001/2002 FMD massive outbreak.

CICCRA points out that beef production in Argentina during 2010 dropped 20.7% compared to the 2.68 million tons of 2009. Domestic consumption fell 13.2% to 2.38 million tons (equivalent to 58.8 kilos per capita) and exports plummeted 52.7% to 302.034 tons.

“The review of foreign trade is far from what was promised by Agriculture and Livestock Minister Julian Dominguez who had anticipated exports of 400.000 tons in 2010. This is clearly the result of the anti-cattle farmers policy the government has been implementing since 2006”, adds the report.

The Argentine government policy has been to privilege the domestic market ensuring prices remain relatively stabile, and banning exports whenever needed for that purpose. This has had a strong discouraging impact among cattle breeders.

Paraguay in 2010 exported to the value of 1.05 billion US dollars and during the first month of 2011, a total 17.827 tons of beef were shipped overseas equivalent to 59.3 million US dollars.

However although the sum is over ten million higher that in January last year (49.2 million US dollars) the volume was down by 1.200 tons from 19.013 to 17.827 tons.
This means that the price per ton value remains strong and climbing.

Brazil remains as the world’s leading exporter of meats and its industry has expanded aggressively in Uruguay, Argentina, United States and Australia.