Dairy and Meat Overview 2023 in Argentina: How much milk and meat was produced in 2022, how much was consumed, and how much was exported, with data up to mid-March. March 2023 report.
Since the beginning of the year, news from the agricultural and livestock sector has been dominated by the consequences of the climatic drought that was felt well into March of this year.
Within this context, one piece of news that went largely unnoticed was the rebound in the livestock sector. This stemmed from higher export values and stable domestic consumption, which led to exportable surpluses.
The following report provides an overview of the dairy and meat production sectors for Argentina, with the latest data updated to mid-March.
dairy production
Dairy production in Argentina has improved over the past four years, approaching the peak of 12.000 billion liters reached in 2015.
In 2022, 11.557 billion liters were produced, although the herd for dairy farming continues to decline with 1,58 million heads registered in 2021.
Graph 1: Reception of millions of liters per month. Primary milk production. From 2019 to 2022.
Regarding the economic sustainability of the sector, in February 2023 the input-output ratio was 1,4 kg of corn per liter of raw milk, which shows a downward trend of 22% below the average of the last 5 years.
In other words, each additional liter of milk produced can buy 22% less corn than the average of recent years.
Dairy consumption and exports
Regarding demand, local consumption of dairy products has remained stable over the past 5 years. In 2022, per capita consumption was 187,8 liters equivalent.
However, dairy exports continue to increase. In the last year, the volume exported rose by 4,3%, reaching 412 tons. Nevertheless, the value is still below the level exported in 2011.
Gráfico 2: Evolución anual del consumo per cápita de lácteos. En litros de leche equivalente. 2015 a 2022.
The largest increases were seen in powdered milk, both whole and skim, and semi-hard cheeses and mozzarella. The value of exports increased by 25% compared to 2021, registering a positive sum of 1.675 million dollars in the trade balance.
As regards the climatic setback at the beginning of the year, if the effects of the drought continue to affect current production, there will be upward pressure on domestic prices.
If the La Niña climate phenomenon recedes and the availability of water and feed for animals improves, production will not be as affected, and the outlook would be more encouraging for both the sector and the families.
meat production
As for the cattle herd for meat production, a downward trend has continued to be observed since 2019, with an approximate stock of 53,4 million heads for 2021.
Al respecto, la provincia de Buenos Aires concentra más de un tercio del rodeo nacional, seguida por Santa Fe (6,32 millones de cabezas) y Córdoba, Corrientes y Entre Ríos, que mantienen un rodeo aproximado de 4,5 millones de cabezas por provincia.
Graph 3: Stock of cattle from 2008 to 2021.
Beef production reached a higher level in 2022, totaling 3,2 million tons. However, a decrease in the cattle herd is projected due to the culling of breeding stock.
Graph 4: Evolution of different aspects of work. From 2020 to 2022.
In terms of external consumption, beef exports recovered, increasing by 12,1% compared to 2021, reaching 900 tons. This represents a return to the export levels achieved before the 2021 restrictions.
China is the main final destination, followed by the European Union, Chile and Israel. In addition, international prices have risen on average, generating a greater inflow of foreign currency than in 2021.
Total domestic meat consumption rebounded in 2022 compared to 2021. Beef remains the most consumed, with an average of 48 kg per person per year.
However, a strong substitution of beef by chicken meat is observed until 2020.
Chart 5: Evolution of consumption by type of meat and its relative prices. From 2016 to 2023.
Open access, for use and citation
The report is available freely and without charge, under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0):
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- 🗄️ UNR Hypermedia Repository (RepHip): https://hdl.handle.net/2133/27005
- 📚 More reports from the Observatory: Index of Reports
Sector Ganadero 2023. Informes del Observatorio UNR N.º 60 — Serie Informes de Coyuntura N.º 22, marzo de 2023. ISSN 2683-9067 / 2683-9075. Autores: Alfredo O. Bula y Rolando V. Gonzalez.