Supermarkets in Qatar and other Middle Eastern destinations will begin to offer sheep and capon meat originating from the Southern Line and produced by the Jacobacci municipal meat processing plant.which obtained the license to fish with the strict regulations required in Islamic countries.
The first shipment will leave through the port of Buenos Aires next week, according to the president of the cooperative that operates the plant, Felipe Gerbán. who pointed out that it is a new niche “with a lot of potential” to improve the profitability of regional livestock production.
He explained that the local market has extensive development in the consumption of lambs, but adult sheep are not incorporated into the diet of Argentines. Something that does happen in Arab countries, where it is a highly valued product with a long culinary tradition.
Gerbán said that from the commercial point of view it is all profit, because until now rural producers could not find clients for adult sheep and rams, which “died in the field” or at most ended up exchanged for bales of grass. He said that now they will be able to sell them abroad and obtain a much higher return, although he did not quantify it.
The so-called “halal†slaughter is what markets of Muslim religion demand and The Jacobacci meat processing plant achieved certification to operate with this technique, after a process that took three years.
Production under these parameters began a week ago, and has continued since then with full shifts, in several days, to obtain and condition the meat that will head north in a few days, when the first batch of 1,200 20-kilo boxes is completed.
In this case, the receiving markets of the first shipment will be Qatar and Kuwait. The conditions to access these markets are certified by the Islamic Center of the Argentine Republic, based in Buenos Aires, according to Gerbán. That entity operates in this case as a specific Senasa to grant halal authorization. The same happens in Uruguay and Brazil.
Gerbán assured that the interest of the ranchers in the area has multiplied with the new alternative and they already have work shifts granted until April. He said that in the slaughterhouse managed by the JJ Gómez cooperative they can slaughter up to 300 sheep daily and that with more cold capacity in the future they will be able to process up to 800 animals.
The Secretary of Livestock of Río Negro, Tabaré Bassi, He praised the achievement because “it is the first halal slaughter, which opens a whole field for the export of meat products to Asian countries. It is a tempting market, because they pay a price that would not be achieved in any way at the domestic level.
He recalled that the Jacobacci slaughterhouse and meat processing plant is municipal property. The Roquense cooperative assumed the operation and made a very large investment – estimated at 100 million pesos at the time. to recover the facilities, which were closed for four years, until their reopening in April 2023.
Also the governor Alberto Weretilneck referred to the topic at the recent rural exhibition in Bariloche and highlighted the importance of halal slaughter to expand the commercial possibilities of Rio Negro livestock farming.
The commercial circuit
Gerbán said that until now, shipments of live sheep left periodically for Buenos Aires, destined for the only slaughterhouse enabled for halal slaughter in the country.but now the Jacobacci plant has achieved the same status and guarantees the local processing of meat, with the consequent benefit in added value and jobs.
He explained that this way it is also more efficient freight logistics because a single trip of already slaughtered meat is equivalent to three shipments of live animals.
He noted that “for now†the operation is in charge of a company from Buenos Aires and from the Jacobacci meat processing plant they provide the slaughtering service. But in the future the cooperative aspires to take charge of the entire circuit.
Gerbán said that due to its location, Jacobacci has the potential to become an epicenter of halal slaughter for ranches from different areas of Río Negro and also from Chubut and Neuquén. If this range is opened, there would be sheep and capons insured to maintain a regular supply to external buyers.
The Moroccan specialist
The businessman explained that to adapt to halal standards they had to carry out some infrastructure reforms and that the Islamic center’s inspectors were very satisfied. “In principle there were going to be two inspections, but in the first one we complied with everything and obtained the certificate,†he stated.
He said that to meet the requirements they had to make reforms in the cold technology, with a freezing tunnel and another for conservation. The cooperative had to guarantee new electricity installations and also effluent disposal.
Another requirement is that products with alcohol not be used in cleaning, so they had to change sanitizers. According to the head of the company, “the health issue is very special†and also the slaughter method, which required courses and training.
Even so, the specific task of cutting the throat of each animal is not carried out by the meat processing plant staff but by a slaughterer of Moroccan origin, sent by the Islamic center.. Gerbán explained that he must be someone of the Muslim religion, Ana. He noted that the demands are strict and “everything must be fine.” If the regulated procedure was not followed with any animal, it is “discarded.”
Once the sheep have been slaughtered, The trimming is carried out and the cuts are placed in boxes, ready for export.
According to Gerbán, the change for producers (in addition to the better price obtained) is in “the predictability of the business“, since by having a guaranteed market they can organize their breeding plan much better. “Until now they did not know what to do with the sheep and if they did not find a buyer they exchanged them for grass,†he stressed.
He maintained that the start of these operations, with Asian buyers, “is important for the meat processing plant and for the entire region, which will achieve better yields.” since from now on lamb will not be the only meat product to be marketed.
The manager said that “for now†the purchasing countries did not focus control on the breeding methods for their purchases in the region. QBut halal meat, according to current requirements, must come from animals with freedom of movement, which were fed a strictly vegetarian diet, without feed of animal origin. They also do not allow the use of antibiotics or growth hormones.
According to the manager, in addition to Qatar and Kuwait, clients from Oman, Dubai and Saudi Arabia have already expressed interest in purchasing Patagonian sheep meat. Gerbán said that this last destination “is more demanding” and requires another certification.
He pointed out that in the future he does not consider the battle lost so that sheep and capon also gain ground on Argentine tables. “There is no custom. People prefer lamb, and roast, which is not what is consumed in Muslim countries. “They have other types of preparation and use the largest animals,” he explained. But the same thing could happen with the pig. Before, in Argentina there was only a market for piglets, but today adult animals have also been incorporated, with cuts that are very popular.
The slaughter methodology and other requirements to obtain “halal meat”
The ritual to obtain “halal†meat has a history of centuries and is founded on religious and also health reasons. OROne of the objectives is to achieve complete bleeding of the animal. Something that does not happen with the traditional slaughter method in Argentina, which calls for achieving “unconsciousness†of the cow, pig or sheep, through a blow to the head, and then butchering it.
The “halal†slaughterer makes a clean and quick incision with a very sharp knife in the neck of the animal, which allows him to simultaneously cut the carotid artery and the jugular vein, but leaving the spine intact.. This ensures correct bleeding.
The market for this type of products is very attractive, not only because of the demand from Arab countries, but also because of the demand represented by the 25 million Muslims who live in Europe. On that continent, the halal method became involved in controversy, because there are countries such as Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Estonia, Switzerland, Lithuania and Denmark where it was banned due to complaints from animal rights groups. who denounced that it is a practice that causes greater suffering to the animal.
On the other hand, other countries like Spain has seen a significant boom in this modality for a decade and already has a hundred slaughterhouses with halal certification.