The historic drop in domestic beef consumption in 2024, combined with declining production and prices below inflation, reflects a structural crisis in the local market, despite the rebound in exports.
In the first nine months of the year, that is, in the same period of time as the management of Javier Mileithe internal consumption of meat vaccine decreased 11.3% compared to the same period of the previous yearreaching 1,646 million tons of bone-in beef (tn r/c/h) so far this year.
“The apparent consumption of beef per capita averaged 46.8 kilos per person in the first nine months of 2024, which represents a decrease of 12.3% compared to the same period in 2023, equivalent to a drop of 6.6 kilos per inhabitant,” states the latest report of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Meat and Derivativess (CICCRA), which concludes that “This is the lowest level of consumption recorded in the last 26 years“.
Regarding the moving average of the last 12 months, in September it stood at 47.5 kilos per person, 10.9% lower than the average for September of last year, with a reduction of 5.8 kilos per inhabitant.
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This decrease in consumption occurs in a context where, “Despite the increase in the price of meat, it has remained below general inflation“says the text. While the Consumer Price Index of Greater Buenos Aires (CPI-GBA) rose 3.7% in September and accumulated an interannual variation of 214%, lThe average prices of beef cuts increased by 3.1% in the same month, registering a year-on-year increase of 152.1%.
About meat slaughter
Regarding slaughter activity, the meat processing industry processed 1,192 million head of cattle in September 2024, closing the third quarter with a total of 3,662 million head slaughtered. Between August and September, activity showed a recovery of 2.9%, adjusted by the number of working days. In the accumulated of the first nine months of the year, 10,225 million head were slaughtered, which represents a drop of 7.2% compared to the same period in 2023.
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Beef production in September 2024 was 276 thousand tons of bone-in beef, which implies a monthly increase of 2.9%, once the series is corrected for working days, and an interannual growth of 3.4%, equivalent to an increase of 9 thousand tons. In the accumulated of the first nine months of the year, production totaled 2,336 million tons, which represents a drop of 6.4% compared to the same period in 2023.
On the other hand, beef exports grew by 7.8% in the first nine months of 2024, with a total of 689.8 thousand tons sent abroad, which represents an increase of 50 thousand tons compared to the same period last year.
Source: Ambito
