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The fridge ArreBeef, that next May 16 will be 102 years old, completed the first export of beef to Mexico, a market that Argentina has historically sought to conquer because it is demanding in terms of sanitary conditions.
The company, which has its plant in Pérez Millán, in the Ramallo district of Buenos Aires, did a sample shipment with a ton of cuttings by plane [vía Aero México] from Ezeiza.
As this medium was able to learn, in the office they were these cuts: tenderloin, narrow steak, rump, entrails, rump top, rump tail and wide steak. After the information about the shipment was disclosed in the market, LA NACION contacted Hugo Borrell, president of the refrigerator, who indicated: “We send this sample so that everything is oiled, it is the first export.”
The buyer of this product is Sigma Food Service Comercial, a firm linked to a diversified food giant in several countries in addition to Mexico. Strictly speaking, this group owns 65 manufacturing plants, produces 1.7 million tons of food per year and 44,000 people work in the company. It has 11 brands with net sales of more than US$100 million each.
Historically, the country sought to sell beef to Mexico, but it always encountered difficulties, among others due to foot-and-mouth disease, a disease that acted as a kind of barrier for that market. Argentina vaccinates the farm north of Patagonia against the disease.
Mexico is a country that both exports and imports beef. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), in 2023 it will sell 440,000 tons to the world, while it would import 180,000 tons. The US is a relevant supplier in this market.
It is worth remembering that Mexico opened its market to Argentine beef in November of last year. He did so after a negotiation that lasted more than eight years. The Mexican Senasica, which is the health authority of that nation, authorized 22 processing plants to sell to that market.
After the step taken last November, then in December 2022 the National Agrifood Health and Quality Service (Senasa) reported that Argentina and Mexico agreed on the sanitary certificate for exports.
“In what constitutes a new step to start exports of Argentine bovine meat to Mexico, the National Service of Agrifood Health and Quality (Senasa) sent its counterpart from the Aztec country, the National Service of Agrifood Health, Safety and Quality (Senasica) ), the health certificate with the requirements that both parties were agreeing on”, the Argentine health agency had reported at the time.
Today, with the first shipment from Ezeiza, the Mexican market is already a reality for the Argentine refrigeration industry. “It is a great market, a great opportunity for Argentina”, Borell pointed out. The ArreBeef refrigeration plant has an area of 26,200 square meters where nearly 1,000 workers work, according to information published on its website. It has a bovine slaughter capacity of 30,000 heads per month.
From Senasa, the vice president of the organization, Rodolfo Acerbi, He said: “Today Argentina has the markets of Canada, the United States and now Mexico, a very important block for the country and for our industry and a great challenge for Senasa to continue opening other markets.”
The Secretary of Agriculture, Juan Jose Bahillo, He stated: “The opening of Mexico for Argentine meat is a reaffirmation of the quality and safety of our food and a support for our productive system that stands out for its sustainability and efficiency.”
Meanwhile, the Chief of Foreign Affairs of the Embassy of Mexico in Argentina, Gabriel Terrés, He remarked: “We believe that this is the beginning to continue strengthening the bilateral economic relationship so that it reflects the weight of our economies and the exchange of products that will lead us to be closer to each other.”
