Southeast Asia gives beef “advantage in value and market diversification” – Diario Cambio Salto – Diario Cambio

Uruguay has 85% of the world meat market available for meat exports, with most of its plants enabled, according to the information provided within the framework of Expo Prado 2024. The Agr. Álvaro Pereira Ramela, director of Market Access at the National Meat Institute (INAC), emphasized that the most important thing is “continuity and fluidity; without any interruption” in the transport of meat to these markets, which reinforces the position of our country on the international market.
The professional pointed out that, from the institute, they are working on two lines of action to improve access to our meats, “the entry of bone meat into countries that we are already open to, except for meat deboned, the ability to penetrate. meat with bones for the United States, Europe, Switzerland and the United Kingdom and another area of ​​development would be to enter Southeast Asia, where there are four or five countries with 700 million inhabitants , where Uruguayan meat is not present, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam,” he said.
Meat with bone
Regarding the bone meat market, Pereira Ramela said that “the bone cut that is marketed by definition is the roast” and in this sense he said that “there are opportunities nearby, such as in Chile, and then in The United States and Korea, which are important importers of barbecue, pointed out that “in Uruguay we provide a good price for barbecue. “
In the case of sheep, the situation is different from beef. “Although 80% of the beef sold is boneless, in sheep it is the other way around: 80% is with bone,” explained the professional, who pointed out that “cuts such as French rib, leg and shoulder are typical examples of meat on the bone that would find great opportunities in markets such as the European Union. “So this access, although important for cattle, would have a much greater impact on sheep.”
Regarding the weight of sheep carcasses, which is causing concern among producers, Pereira Ramela said “in the Brazilian market, some cuts are more valued at higher weights, such as ribs, while others are preferred , such as shoulder, in smaller sizes. “The industry is looking for a balance, and at the moment it seems that carcasses around 18 or 19 kilos are the sweet spot. ” So, he emphasized, for Brazil, it is important to stay in that area.
In other markets, he pointed out that our country exports to three main markets, “adult sectors to China, light lambs to Brazil and other weighted lambs to the Middle East.” “This is the game the industry is making to value the raw material available,” he said.
In this sense, he said that “about a third of production goes to China, and last year or the year before it was 80%.” These are adult sectors and other types of meat, but in a very special price situation”, which is why he emphasized that “sheep farming in Uruguay makes sense by working each sector in a particular market and continues to be particular.”
Southeast Asia
The second line of work focuses on Southeast Asia, where he pointed out that “there are four or five countries with 700 million inhabitants, where Uruguayan meat is not present, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.” These countries, as he explained, “present interesting opportunities in two aspects: first, in the tourism sector, with the potential to provide a center for high-value cuts in house chains -hotels and resorts; secondly, in local gastronomy, where offal is very welcome and included in their traditional cuisine.
Said Eng. Álvaro Pereira Ramela that Southeast Asia would “provide an advantage in value and market diversification for Uruguayan meat.” In this sense, he explained that they are “markets with population growth, expanding economies and low taxes, which provide good prospects to work in these destinations. “
Because of the proximity of the entrance to Indonesia, which “represents almost half of that population” of 700 million people in Southeast Asia, “we will begin to feel demand pressure is in the short term,” he said. In this sense, he said that in this market “there is a lot of meat from India, which works almost with another species. There is also a lot of Brazilian meat, there is about 15% or 20 % of imports come from Australia, New Zealand and the United States. “We can focus on working on the product available to find our place in that market.”