It should be noted that the document updates the comparison of consumer prices for beef in different countries of the region that IERAL has been carrying out and publishing since the beginning of 2020.
The main question that he tried to answer is whether beef is expensive in Argentina, but not so much in absolute terms or in internal historical perspective, but rather in relation to what it is worth in neighboring countries in which, due to proximity, nature of the product (commodities or almost commodities), level of development, possibility of trade and other issues, relatively similar prices measured in the same currency would be expected, particularly between exporting countries.
For this purpose, a first comparison of consumer prices was made for a set of cuts in three countries: Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, using statistical bases from official organizations (or mixed institutions, in the case of the IPCVA in Argentina) with the latest information available in each country; then a second comparison was made, a survey of online prices in supermarkets carried out in the first half of August, “in order to have a more current picture but fundamentally to be able to incorporate Brazil, a country that conspicuously does not have regular information of prices from public sources like the other three countries”, detailed the IERAL.
In the comparison between Uruguay and Argentinabased on prices from public organizations and mixed institutions, included 15 cuts of beef at the final consumer level, The result was that, in July 2022, the average price of this basket of cuts was US$9.76 per kilo in Uruguay and US$8.67 per kilo in Argentina, that is, on average, Argentine meat it is 11% cheaper than in Uruguay.
“This gap is widening again, considering that it averaged 27% in 2020, 11% in 2021, but at the beginning of 2022 it had closed to 3%, always in favor of Argentina,” the report detailed.
And he added that, anyway, it should be noted that, in other years, meat was more expensive in Argentina than in Uruguay (+18% in 2015 and +8% in 2016).
Meanwhile, in the comparison between Chile and Argentina Based on prices from public bodies and/or representative entities of the sector, 13 cuts of beef were included at the final consumer level and it was observed that, In July 2022, the average price of this basket in the trans-Andean country was US$10.40 per kilo, while in Argentina it was US$9.88 per kilo. For the reference month, beef was 5% cheaper in Argentina than in Chile.
Argentinian bovine meat chile.PNG
“Here it is also found that the gap continues to be favorable to Argentina, although it has been significantly reduced considering that in the last three years (2019-2021) it was in the order of 30% on average,” IERAL highlighted.
Finally, a survey was carried out in supermarkets in the first half of August, in order to include Brazil in the price comparison. The most important conclusion was that Brazil is currently the country with the lowest beef price of the four countries analyzed, unlike previous surveys in which Argentina occupied that place (2020, 2021 and 2022).
“In effect, the average price -in this case of a basket of eight cuts of medium/high quality- It is around $1,550 per kilo in Brazil, closely followed by Argentina where a value of $1,557 per kilo was found, while for Uruguay and Chile there are much higher values, which are close to $1,800 per kilo and $1,950 per kilo. per kilo, respectively“revealed the report.
precise beef Argentina brazil.PNG
“The fact that Argentina has ceased to be the country with the cheapest beef in the region, losing that leadership to Brazil, is not surprising for various reasons, structural factors and also elements of the economic situation of the countries,” he explained.
Among them he highlighted that Brazil is currently the world’s leading exporter, in recent years it has left behind other large exporters, such as the United States or Australia, which reflects a great cost competitiveness.
As well as that bovine meat has been getting more expensive in dollars in Argentina like many other products, “as a consequence of an exchange appreciation in real terms that has already been going on for about 24 months -since mid-2020, prices in the economy have grown faster than the official exchange rate- and although this has also happened in other countries in the region, including Brazil, the appreciation has been considerably more important in Argentina with 20% versus 5% in the neighbor”.
Source: Ambito
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