Average per capita beef consumption grew 4.7% annually last month. It occurred in a context in which the price of the different cuts grows below general inflation.
During May, as in the previous months, the price of the beef grew below the level of the inflation general. In this scenario, average per capita consumption grew again, reaching the highest level of the last two years.
This was analyzed by the Meat Industry and Commerce Chamber (CICCRA), which highlighted that in May the moving average of the last twelve months of the per capita consumption of bovine meat would have been located at 50.4 kg/year, which implies an annual increase of 4.7%. Thus, it is above the average for 2022 (48.2 kg/year) and 2021 (48.9 kg/year), and slightly below 2020 (50.7 kg/year). In relation to 2019, when the last consumption peak was recorded, it continues to be 5.7% below.
Thus, according to a recent report from the Rosario Stock Exchange, Argentina continues as the main consumer of bovine meat per inhabitant worldwide. “In 2023, a consumption of 53.1 kg per inhabitant is estimated, comfortably surpassing the two countries that continue on the podium: Uruguay and the United States, where the average inhabitant would consume 43 and 37 kg, respectively. Next in the ranking are Brazil (35.3 kg), Israel (27.2 kg), Chile (26.3 kg) and Australia (25.6 kg). Despite everything, the traditional barbecue continues to be one of the pillars of the local gastronomic tradition, and a must at most Argentine tables,” the entity highlighted.
Meanwhile, they detailed that the “total consumption of beef, poultry and pork per inhabitant in Argentina could be around 115.2 kg in the year 2023”. “If so, it would represent an improvement of 4.2% compared to the previous year, and consumption levels close to those of 2017 would be reached. On the other hand, each inhabitant would consume in 2023 a total of 4.0 and 3.4 kg above the averages of the last 5 and 10 years, respectively”, they estimated from the BCR.
Thus, they added, the composition of the meat diet of the average inhabitant would be: “46% beef, 39% poultry and 15% pork. The proportion of bovine meat would have increased 2.3 percentage points compared to 2022, reaching levels close to those of 2019”.
Inflation: meat rises below the CPI
One of the factors that may influence this recovery in beef consumption is that the price of the different cuts rises at a slower rate than the general level of inflation and, even, below the food and beverage category.
For example, from CICCRA they analyzed that in May there was an 8.0% monthly rise in the general level of consumer prices corresponding to Greater Buenos Aires (it was higher than the 7.8% registered at the national level), which led to the accumulated increase in the last twelve months to 116.3%. “Unlike what was observed in the previous five months, in May the chapter on food and non-alcoholic beverages exhibited a lower rise than the general level. The monthly increase was 5.7%, due to an increase of 5.4% in food and 8.4% in non-alcoholic beverages. But, despite this slowdown, in the interannual comparison the rate of increase in the chapter of food and non-alcoholic beverages remained above that of the general level, reaching 121.4%”, they pointed out from the entity.
In this context, they remarked: “Once again, the speed of growth of the prices of the main beef cuts reported by INDEC in Greater Buenos Aires remained well below the food and non-alcoholic beverages chapter, as well as the general level of the CPI. Between April and May 2023, the average increase in the prices of the five cuts was 2.5%, which brought the accumulated increase in the last twelve months to 72.0%.
“In the last year, the average price of beef cuts surveyed by INDEC decreased 20.5% compared to the general level of the CPI and in relation to the price of the whole chicken. This significant drop in the real value of beef cuts is consistent with the growth recorded in the volume of beef sent to the domestic market and, consequently, in the apparent consumption of beef,” they detailed from the entity.
In addition to a greater supply in the local market, some external factors could also have had an impact on a lower evolution of the price of meat. For example, the drop in international bovine meat prices stands out compared to last year: it is estimated that the average ton exported in the first four-month period of this year was 27% below the price observed in the same year. period of 2022.
Source: Ambito
