In January-July 2024 the refrigeration industry exported a total of 353.4 thousand tons of product weight (tn. pp.) of beef, That is, 8.7% more than in the same period in 2023. In absolute terms, 28.35 thousand tons more were sent abroad than a year ago. Of the total placed abroad, 83.3% corresponded to frozen cuts and 15.9% to chilled cuts, while the remaining 0.83% was made up of processed meats.
The report prepared by the Chamber of the Meat Derivatives Industry and Commerce of the Argentine Republic (CICCRA), He adds that during this period the average price fell by 9.9% and stood at US$4,354 per tn. pp. The reduction in the unit value paid by Chinese buyers explained almost all of this fall. Meanwhile, The turnover was equivalent to 1,538.67 million dollars in the first seven months of the year, a value that was 2.1% lower than that generated in the same period of 2023 (-32.7 million dollars).
Exports of frozen cuts generated 68.8% of total revenues and the fresh cuts accounted for 30.8%. Meanwhile, the processed meats contributed 0.47% of total revenue.
If the month of July beef exports totaled 47.1 thousand tons of product weight (tn pp) without considering sales of bones with meat. The total exported was 0.6% lower than that certified in June, accumulating four declines in the last five months.
Meanwhile, foreign sales for the period May-July 2024 amounted to 47 thousand tons of pp and were similar to the monthly average for 2023.
In the year-on-year comparison, 7,610 fewer tons of beef were exported, registering a fall of 13.9%, explained by lower Chinese purchases.
The report adds that Shipments to China experienced a 13.7% monthly drop in the seventh month of the year, cancelling out “the rebound” that they had registered during June, so Its relative importance fell from 70.1% in June to 60.9% in July.
Shipments to the US also decreased by 22.3% monthlywhich resulted in a contraction of 968 tons of pp, leaving the total at 3,378 tons of pp of beef. The trend was also seen in lower sales to Mexico (-10.6%), Brazil (-26.1%), Italy (-18.7%), Spain (-10.1%) and other destinations (-6.5%).
These declines, however, were “almost offset” by increased exports to Israel, Chile, Germany and the Netherlands. In particular, shipments to Israel increased by 205.2%, which meant 3,240 tons more than in June, favored by the seasonal issues presented by the second most important market for Argentine meat packing plants.
Meanwhile, sales to Chili rose 240.7%, due to the special drop they showed in June (+1,608 tn pp); and German market 1,934 tons of beef were shipped, that is, 41.8% more than in June (+570 tons of beef) and Netherlands 1,154 tons of pp were exported, representing an increase of 53.6%.
Regarding the average price per ton of exported product, in July was located at 4,628 dollars, registering an improvement of 8.7% monthly. This increase was mainly explained by the drop in the quantities sold to China between June and July.
Meanwhile, In the year-on-year comparison, the average price fell by 2.5%, the result of an almost general declinewhich was highlighted by the decreases in unit prices paid by Chinese and Mexican buyers. In the case of the Asian giant, the average price fell 10.7% year-on-year and stood at US$3,180 per tn. pp., explains the CICCRA Economic Report.
Regarding beef export revenuesin July 2024 were equivalent to 217.8 million dollars and experienced a 16.1% year-on-year contraction, as a result of both a lower quantity exported and a lower average price paid by most purchasing countries, details the CICCRA report.
Source: Ambito
