Per capita beef consumption fell to a century low

Report on the Argentine Meat Chamber (CICCRA) bold shows meat consumption results that are added to the official consumption data released by INDEC and those that, in particular, are prepared by the Argentine Chamber of Medium Enterprises (CAME). For these last Sales in the first seven months of the year fell 17% while official figures show a drop in spending in supermarkets of 12.4% in the first five months of the year.

For CICCRA, it was the first seven months of the year year-on-year decrease in beef consumption targeting the domestic market of 14.4%.

Although there was some recovery in July in cattle slaughter compared to the previous month, this was announced by the employer entity to the increase in working days in the month of July compared to June.

In any case, compared to July 2023, a decline of 3.1% was recorded for men and 4.4% for women. When comparing In the first seven months it appears that homicides fell by 10.2% for males and 10.1% for females..

The monthly report prepared by Engineer Miaguel Shiariti for the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Meat and Derivatives in the Argentine Republic (CICCRA) indicates that production in the first seven months of the year reached 1,779 million tons. “Standing 8.8% lower than the amount produced in the same period last year“. The fall was almost offset by the increase in exports which reached 530.6 thousand tons.

For the entity that brings together SME producers in the sector focused on the domestic and export market, “beef consumption would have apparently fallen to 1,248 million tons. Remaining 14.1% lower than January-July last year«. In absolute terms, this is a drop of 205.6 thousand tons. Therefore, they explain, it is the result of “the lowest level in the last twenty six years“. The report begins in 1996, the year the entity was founded which, until now, coincided with the year of lowest consumption in the entire series.

In detail, it seems that between January and July of this year the Meat consumption per capita reaches 45.6 kilos per year, which represents a decrease of 15.1%, equivalent to 8.1 kg. less annual meat per inhabitant.

Finally, the entity pointed out that although the general CPI in July increased by 4% compared to the previous month, “the item ‘meat and derivatives’ decreased” as it recorded “The smallest stock dividend was 1.7% per month“.

At the same time, they highlight that beef cuts rose by just 1.4% while chicken rose by 2.2% after marking a 0.2% increase for two consecutive months.

For the CICCRA, the slowdown in prices is basically explained “as a result of restoring the purchasing power of wages” of all workers while the average increase in beef cuts on the counter was lower than the average price of the steady farmer. While in the first case the cumulative increases in one year were 282.2%, the living property increased by 296.3%.