Cattle fording river in Argentine pampas

Upward pressure on prices has seen beef consumption fall to 53.8 kg per capita per annum in 2011 - the lowest levels in 91 years. Reduced availability of products, increasing population size and higher prices are to blame.

The Chamber of Meat Trade and Meat Products (CICCRA) stated that the consumption of beef fell 6.7 per cent over the last year. The lowest recorded levels of meat beef consumption occurred in 1920, at 47 kg per capita.

Official statistics put Argentina’s cattle slaughter for the first eleven months of 2011 at 9.8 million head, a fall of 11% compared to the same period the year before.

The decline in slaughter was expected after beef herds were badly hit by the worst drought in over 100 years back in 2008 and 2009 which caused the national herd to fall from around 65 million head to 48 million.

Herd rebuilding will take several years and it is inevitable that prices had to rise leading to lower beef consumption, despite the economic boom in the country, and fewer rawhides for the tannery industry.

Sources: The Beefsite and Leatherbiz