The consumption of beef closed 2021 with the lowest record in 100 years, according to a report by the Rosario Stock Exchange (BCR).
According to the report, last year the equivalent consumption per inhabitant was 47.8 kilos. In addition, if one compares the number of cows per inhabitant, this indicator was at a historical minimum of 1.13 cattle per inhabitant.
“The national average of beef absorption was the lowest in 100 years. In fact, we must go back to 1920 to find a record in which a lower volume of beef per capita has been absorbed internally. At that time, the national intake had precipitated downwards, reaching the historical minimum of 46.9 kg/person/year, being the lowest historical record and being just 1 kg below 2021″, specified the entity’s report.
For the BCR, the drop in per capita consumption “is a consequence of the direct decrease in consumption.” In addition, this is due to the fact that “the absorption of other animal proteins was also increased.” Of the 109.4 kg/inhabitant/year of total meat consumption in 2021, 44% thus corresponded to bovine meat when at the beginning of this millennium, according to the entity, the range was from 60 to 70%. Chicken and pork gained space for beef.
The report also shows how the consumption of the last five years, which averaged 54.5 kilos, is well below the 1914-2021 period, which stood at 73.4 kg/person/year.
In another section, the report focuses on the fact that volume production does not show a significant increase.
“Argentina was historically characterized by its cattle-raising capacities and by actively participating in international trade, exporting part of the goods produced internally. Nevertheless, From 1975 to the present, bovine meat production has remained within a relatively stable range that goes from 2.5 to 3 million tons of bovine meat, with few exceptions. In fact, 2021 was no exception, accounting for a production of just under 3 Mt (bone-in beef equivalent), below the 3.2 Mt of 2020 and thus ending a streak of 3 consecutive years where it had exceeded the upper limit of the 3 Mt range,” he noted.
For the entity, in terms of apparent consumption “its performance is largely linked to production.”
“From 1960 to the present, only 13 times have these indicators moved in opposite directions.” He specified: “Only in 13 of the last 61 years can we say that if production increased, consumption did not increase, and vice versa.”
Regarding foreign sales, at some moments production and consumption distanced themselves and exports took precedence. But there were no jumps from the latter on production.
“From the mid-1960s to the early years of the next, the highest annual averages of the export/production ratio of our country were recorded. In this sense, at that time between 25% and 33.6% of the tons of beef that were produced internally were exported annually. Likewise, the per capita consumption of the average Argentine was between 60 kg/inhabitant/year and 90 kg/ha/year. Then, from 1975 to 2018 there were only 5 years in which 20% of the exported production was exceeded, and on no occasion was it exceeded 25% of it, while in the last 3 years (2019-2021 ) exports equivalent to 26 to 28% of production were recorded for the first time since 1973″, pointed.
In this context, The report showed that in 2021 Argentina had 1.13 cattle per person, a historical minimum. The maximum occurred in 1977 with 2.29 cattle per capita. The stock did not follow the line of population growth.
What happens with livestock is key for the country. According to another BCR report, when the different livestock chains are seen there, it is observed that the beef chain generates 468,281 jobs, this is equivalent to 55% of the total employment in the livestock sector. It represents 12% of the total jobs generated in all agri-food chains.
“Taking the bovine chain, of the 468,281 jobs generated by the entire chain, 265,445 (equivalent to 57%) correspond to primary production, and within that total, the vast majority (233,195 employed) carry out cattle breeding activities. bovine. The industrialization stage follows with 104,647 employed persons (22%), of which 45,442 correspond to cattle slaughter activities, while 28,505 carry out food processing activities and 30,727 treat and manufacture leather goods. The commercialization stage creates 88,457 jobs, with 37,065 related to wholesale and 51,393 to retail. Finally, 9,705 are employed in other related activities, 1,306 in transportation and storage activities and 8,399 in supplies and machinery,” he explained.