Where is the beef?

BUENOS AIRES, May 22: In the Villarroel meat plant outside Buenos Aires, workers skillfully butcher cuts of Argentine beef, popular with restaurants from Shanghai to New York. But the country’s steak exports are now sliding as costs rise on a stronger local peso.

In the first four months of the year, beef exports fell nearly 20% year-on-year to around 255,000 tons, according to government agency Senasa. Shipments to price-sensitive top buyer China plunged to 137,000 tons from 203,000 tons a year earlier.

Chinese importers – which gobbled up two-thirds of Argentina’s beef exports last year – are paying around $5 per kilogram, packers say, cutting into their margins as local costs have risen alongside the peso.

“We can’t compete,” Yahir Auad, a manager at the meat-packing plant’s wider group, said at the factory in the city’s suburbs.

Last month, President Javier Milei eased years-long currency controls as part of his effort to stabilize Argentina’s economy, a move long sought by investors.

But a stronger peso has pushed up relative costs and hit what had for years been a competitive edge for some Argentine firms, affecting exporters as well as sectors like tourism as the country has become more expensive in dollar terms.

“We’ve got more exchange-rate stability now, but that stability hasn’t benefited us exporters,” Auad said. “It costs us $4 or $4.50 (per kilo) to produce the raw material, to which we have to add expenses and taxes.”

The tough situation for Argentina’s meat packers – that include Minerva’s Swift, Quickfood, owned by Brazilian giant Marfrig, and others – represents a challenge for Milei even as Argentina emerges from years of economic tumult, overspending and market distortion.

“Argentine beef is today the most expensive in Latin America in dollar terms,” said Miguel Schiariti, director of meat-packing chamber Ciccra, citing the cost of a cut of tenderloin at the equivalent of some $4.70 in Argentina versus $3.60 in Brazil and $3.50 in Uruguay.

“The meat-packing industry and the production industry will go bankrupt in this environment,” he said.

MEAT PACKERS CUT STAFF

Argentina – known for its ranches, barbecue grills and huge per capita consumption of steaks – has some 53 million head of cattle and is among the top five global exporters of beef, usually sending higher quality cuts to Europe and North America, and cheaper cuts to China.

However, exporters are finding it increasingly difficult to place their products on the international market.

“Everyone is struggling to be profitable,” said Miguel Jairala, an analyst with the ABC chamber of meat exporters. ABC says some meat-packing plants have begun cutting staff, in some cases more than 10% of the workforce.

“Deals aren’t being closed, with production costs high ​​compared to the prices paid in China. Brazil has the potential to offer the same product, even better quality than ours, at a more competitive price,” said Jairala.

Auad said high taxes, including a 6.75% tariff firms had to pay when exporting, also contributed to the pain the sector was facing. Industry groups are lobbying the government to lower taxes.

Argentina’s Secretariat of Agriculture did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

“We had to close our (other) Las Heras meat packing plant because we couldn’t fulfill the contracts,” Auad said. “We sold at a certain price and were never able to fulfill the orders.”