Cattle slaughter up in Argentina
Argentina’s cattle slaughter rose in May by 12.4% compared to the same month last year, reaching a total of more than 1.1 million head.
The positive trend was sparked by an increase in demand in the internal market as covid restrictions eased and, as a result, restaurants and hotels returning to something resembling normal activity.
Regular consumer demand also improved as families bought more meat despite a price rise across the board for all cuts as inflation is running at 61% in the country. Average consumption per capita rose by 1.9% year-on-year.
The Industry Chamber of the Meat Trade (CICUR) confirmed that internal demand was driving the market as it increased by 8.7% in the first five months, compared to 2021, whereas exports declined in the same period by 8.9% based on exports of 334.5 thousand tonnes.
CICUR also detailed that of the cattle slaughtered in May, 47.4% were cows, one of the highest on record. Slaughterhouses produced 267.3 thousand tonnes of beef in May and in the first five months of 2022 processed 5.3 million head.
