Bovine meat shipments in January and February reached 103 thousand tons, but the total value fell due to a drop in price.
2023 started with a significant increase in Argentine beef shipments compared to the first months of 2022, although the total value shipped was lower due to a drop in price.
As detailed in the latest export report from the consortium of meat exporters ABC, the accumulated data for the first two months of 2023 reveals that foreign sales of refrigerated and frozen beef were close to 103,000 tons by product weight; for a value of approximately 421.5 million dollars. Compared to the first two months of 2022, the volumes exported are (+19.3%) higher; while the value obtained has been (-13.4%) lower.
The average export price of refrigerated and frozen beef was US$4,102 per ton in February 2023. This value is (+0.2%) higher than that obtained in last January; and (-28.0%) lower than the average price of February 2022, which had been US$5,694 per ton. In recent months, there has been a persistent downward trend in prices in the main destinations from May onwards; and the average US$4,102 per ton obtained in the month of February is US$2,200 per ton below the maximum registered in the month of April.
“The People’s Republic of China is the main export destination, both for the month of February and for the accumulated of the first two months of the year. In the last month, 8.9 thousand tons of bone-in meat and bovine bones were shipped to China as a result of the deboning, for a value of 11.6 million dollars and more than 30.4 thousand tons of boneless bovine meat , for a value of 113.8 million dollars. China accounted for 76.3% of the volumes exported in February 2023; and 75.6% of the accumulated in the first two months of the year. The average price of boneless meat sales to China in February 2023 was around US$3,740 per ton, marking a clear downward path from the maximum of US$5,900 obtained in May 2022,” he said. Mario Ravettino, president of the ABC Consortium.
