In Argentina, the country recognized worldwide as the kingdom of barbecue and once the most carnivorous in the world, beef consumption plummeted.
According to the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Meat and Derivatives of the Argentine Republic (CICCRA), from the 63.2 kilos per person per year that were eaten in 2014, it collapsed to 52.4.
The drop was
7.1 percent in five years
, since in 2019 each inhabitant consumed 56.4.
And if it is contrasted with January 2023, the decrease was greater than 6 percent year-on-year, given that at that time, the figure reached 53.5 kilos.
Evolution of beef consumption per inhabitant as of January 2024. Source: CICCRA.
According to CICCRA, beef consumption would have been equivalent to 186,300 tons of bone-in beef and would have been
6.8 percent below the level recorded in January 2023
, when 13,600 more tons were marketed.
This drop occurs in the midst of a significant
increase in the price of meat
that reached
377 percent annually and rose almost 20 percent in January
, according to the latest survey by the Argentine Beef Promotion Institute (IPCVA) carried out in the AMBA during the first and third week of January in 80 butcher shops and 15 supermarkets.
The price of beef in butcher shops had an increase of 15.8 percent during January and 394.3 percent compared to the same month in 2023. For its part, in supermarkets it showed a variation of 28.2 percent compared to the previous month and 339.7 percent compared to January of last year.
The main increases in average prices during the month of January were in the roast tapa (23.7%), the loin (23.3%) and the tail of cuadril (23.2%).
On the other hand, the cuts with the smallest increases in prices were the common chopped (6.3%), ossobuco (12.4%) and common bait (13.7%).
It is worth remembering that last December, beef had risen 40 percent after the increase that the farm had in the Cañuelas Agricultural Market.
The
uncontrolled rise in prices
does not let up in Argentina and meat is immersed in that same dynamic.
According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) reported last Wednesday by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC), inflation
in January was 20.6 percent
and reached
254 percent year-on-year
.
In this context of brutal loss of purchasing power of salaries, the collapse in the consumption of meat, as well as other foods and goods, is an announced consequence.