In 2018, meatpacking plants became a sort of exception to the rule that affected most businesses in Argentina: falling sales and profitability .

Beef slaughter and production were the highest in nine years , in a performance that was mainly explained by the boom in foreign trade : exports grew by over 75 percent .

• To achieve this, the meat industry relied on two giants as its main allies, which became the main "sucker" for Argentine meat: China and Russia.

Shipments of chilled, frozen, and processed meats for January 2019 totaled 32,7651 tons of product weight, valued at approximately US$159.2 million. The average FOB price per ton for the period in question was approximately US$7,372 for chilled boneless cuts and approximately US$4,272 for frozen boneless cuts. These prices were significantly lower (-18.4%) than those recorded during the first month of 2018 for chilled cuts; and were (-11.7%) lower than those of January 2018 for frozen cuts. The average price for January 2019 fell slightly compared to December 2018 (-1.6%) and fell compared to January 2018 (-16.4%).

EURASIAN DEMAND

In the first 11 months of last year, China imported 183,180 tons of Argentine beef, more than double the figure from January to November 2017.

This represented a business of $766 million, which is also double the previous year's figure.

Considering that total exports during that period were 318,500 tons, this means that 5.5 out of every 10 kilos of meat shipped worldwide ended up in China.

Russia, for its part, accounted for 39,357 tons, 12 percent of the total. Surprisingly, this volume is 752.3 percent higher than in 2017.

Thus, "in January-November 2018, China and Russia accounted for two-thirds of the volume of beef exported from Argentina," Ciccra summarized.

OTHER DESTINATIONS

Chile: It remained the third largest export destination: in 11 months, it purchased 30,600 tons, 20 percent more than a year earlier. However, its market share fell from 13.5 percent to 9.2 percent.

Germany: Purchased 23,000 tons through November, 12.8 percent more than in 2017.

Israel: Imported 17,800 tons, mostly frozen. This was a 1.9 percent drop compared to the previous year.

Netherlands: 12,034 tons of cargo entered the port of Rotterdam, 31.1 percent more than in the same period last year.

Brazil: The South American giant purchased 7,320 tons, mostly frozen cuts, representing a 16.2 percent annual increase.

Italy: Purchased 5,678 tons, 22.9 percent more.

Hong Kong: Demand reached 2,124 tons, 18.1 percent higher than in 2017.