:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/grupoclarin/7V267TLIYBCYDM4SC2PWWYCHCI.JPG "The Milei Government recalculates exports and consumption for the last four years")
The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries recalculated beef exports and consumption per person for the last four years to include the changes registered in trade with China that explain how the sector was able to increase production while sustaining sales abroad without affecting internal consumption.
In a statement, the agricultural portfolio explained that a methodological review of the calculation of beef exports was carried out, adjusting its composition since 2019, when the sale of bone-in meat and also bones resulting from deboning (known as “ bones with meat”) to China.
Its inclusion in the calculation caused a higher number of meat exports compared to the real number, which also affected the calculation of internal consumption of beef that is obtained by difference between production and export, explained the Secretariat in charge of Fernando Vilella.
Carried out by the National Directorate of Animal Production, this methodological review of the calculation of beef exports, adjusting its composition for the period 2019-2023, made it possible to find relevant numerical differences.
Exports in 2023 closed at 852,806 thousand tons of beef equivalent with bone against 963,690 tons that had been calculated before the methodological correction.
With the corrected series, beef exports grew 6% and 17%, compared to the record of 2022 and 2021 respectively, but showed a decrease of 4% compared to the volume of 2020.
Sales of bones resulting from deboning (bones with meat) grew significantly as of July 2019, registering a volume of 111 thousand tons of product weight in 2023.
In mid-March 2021, a specific tariff position was created, called “Other bones resulting from deboning”, which allows it to be differentiated.
Total export income in 2023 was US$2,655 million, 19.6% lower compared to the previous year, due to the drop in international prices (24%).
Making the real numbers transparent also meant correcting the way of calculating beef consumption in Argentina, added the agricultural portfolio.
Through the methodological correction, the annual intake per inhabitant was 5% higher than what had been calculated in the previous administration, resulting in 52.22 kilos consumed per inhabitant in 2023 versus the 49.84 kilos that had been originally calculated.