MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Beef produceres agree with Argentine gov't to keep popular cuts at affordable prices

Popular cuts will be available at affordable prices every day at over 1,000 outlets and butcher chains, it was announced.

The administration of Argentine President Alberto Fernández Friday reached an agreement with meat producers to keep the retail price of “popular cuts” unchanged.

 The Government needs not to cause any further troubles to the population if it is to reverse its overwhelming defeat Sept. 12 at the Mandatory, Open and Simultaneous Primary (PASO) elections which herald bad news if the results are ratified Nov. 14 at the mid-term elections.

In this scenario, government officials and representatives of the production and marketing chain of beef have agreed not to increase the price of popular cuts, keeping them affordable until next December 31, it was officially reported.

The agreement was signed Friday at the Ministry of Productive Development and provides for the monthly commercialization of at least 6,000 tons of beef to guarantee supply to consumers nationwide at the same prices agreed to in the previous arrangement between the parties.

The cuts will be available at these prices every day of the week at over 1,000 outlets and butcher chains.

As it happened with the previous understanding, retail prices in Patagonia will have a 6% surcharge for logistics costs, and cuts with bone south of the Colorado River will not be marketed, given the restrictions established by the Patagonian Zoophytosanitary Barrier.

On behalf of the Argentine government, Minister of Productive Development Matías Kulfas and Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Jorge Solmi signed the accord together with Secretary of Domestic Trade Paula Español.

Representing private businesses were Consortium of Argentine Meat Exporters (ABC) CEO Mario Ravettino; United Supermarkets Association (ASU) Director Juan Vasco Martínez; Federation of Argentine Regional Refrigerating Industries (FIFRA) Chairman Daniel Urcía -albeit in a virtual mode- and Union of the Argentine Meat Industry (UNICA) President Gustavo Valsangiácomo.

Also participating in the agreement were the Consortium of Meat Exporters of Argentina (CECA); and the exporting meat processing plants under the Argentine Chamber of the Meat Processing Industry (CADIF).

The new agreement came days after Agriculture Minister Julián Domínguez decided to make the stocks more flexible for meat exports and to reinstate “old” sales to China.

Producers have already announced they would seek deductions in their export taxes.