The owners of the meat: who are the main meat packing plants in Argentina and how much did they slaughter until August?

While beef consumption in the domestic market is at its lowest level in 100 years and exports of the product are growing in parallel, A key fact is who are the main meat packing plants in Argentina and how much they slaughter.For this, nothing better than official statistics.

According to records from the National Directorate of Agricultural Control, dependent on the Secretary of Agriculture of the Nation, In the first eight months of the year, just over 9 million heads were slaughtered, which is around 800,000 heads less than in the same period of the previous year.

From here the relevant fact is that The number one in this ranking is the Swift refrigerator with 332,900 heads and the second place went to Coto with 299,604 tons.. Although these are preliminary data, so far Swift managed to snatch the first place from Coto who last year had established himself as the main slaughterer with around 457,000 heads.

This change of position may be due precisely to the fact that the bulk of Coto’s meat production is directed to the domestic market, more specifically to its extensive supermarket chain, and a smaller part is exported.. Meanwhile, although Swift also sells merchandise to the domestic market, it finds most of its buyers in the foreign market.

For its part, The third place in the national ranking in August of this year was for the Gorina refrigerator with 265,000 headsfairly This company is focused on exports and of the total 50,000 tons it produces annually, around 45,000 are destined for the foreign market.

Meanwhile, fourth place went to Quickfood, with 237,000 heads, this Brazilian-owned meat packing plant, part of the Marfrig group, had reached 300,700 heads in the accumulated period last year. and was ranked sixth, as up to August last year it had slaughtered 193,900 heads. In this context, Fifth place in the current ranking went to the Rioplatense refrigerator with 232,700 headsmaintaining for now the same position as last year.

Continuing with the top 10, sixth place went to Arre Beef, seventh to Importadora y Exportadora de la Patagonia (La Anónima), eighth to Compañía Bernal, ninth to Frigolar and tenth to Azul Natural Beef, with 195.00, 149.000, 147.000, 113.00, 106.000, respectively.

Low consumption

The data is compelling, projects that the average annual per capita beef consumption in 2024 will be only 44.8 kg., below the historical average (72.9 kg). Nevertheless, in the international comparison, Argentina continues to be one of the countries with the highest per capita consumption, with an intake practically equal to that of Uruguay and far exceeding the United States (38 kg), Australia (27 kg) and Chile (26 kg).

According to data from the Rosario Stock Exchange, total consumption of beef, poultry and pork in Argentina could reach around 105.7 kg per inhabitant in 2024. In 2024, each inhabitant would consume seven kilos less meat compared to the average of the last ten years, which is 112.8 kg.

According to the analysis, the decline in beef consumption is partly due to the decline in purchasing power, but also to a change in consumer habits. To a large extent, chicken has replaced meat on the Argentine table, but this is also due to the fact that the prices of this product are more affordable.