Ranchers in Argentina set sights on bigger cut of Chinese market after beef exports rise

Customs figures say that China imported 185,600 tonnes of beef from Argentina in first seven months of year

Beijing has sent inspectors to examine meat export plants, while the South American industry has sent teams to China to ramp up sales pitch

Reading Time:3 minutes

Cattle producers in Argentina with an eye on the Chinese market are eager for Beijing’s approval for their meat processing plants. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:03pm, 18 Sep 2019Updated: 10:40pm, 18 Sep 2019

Cattle ranchers in Argentina, which recently edged out neighbour Brazil as the leading exporter of beef to China, are hoping to build upon that status by winning Beijing’s approval for more meatpacking plants, industry officials and other sources said.

An Argentine industry group is in China looking to promote the South American country’s T-bone steaks and sirloins, while Chinese teams recently inspected meat plants in Argentina, the sources said.

The push, after a spike in Argentine beef exports to the world’s second biggest economy this year, underscored how China is looking to diversify its protein supply, shaking up the global meat trade as African swine fever sweeps its pig herd.

It is also an important windfall for Latin America’s third largest economy, which is battling to escape a deep recession and facing a debt crisis ahead of elections in October that are likely to usher in a new government.

Argentina, which traditionally exports cheaper cuts to China, reported that its beef sales to the country more than doubled to US$870 million in the first seven months of the year, data from its official INDEC statistics agency showed.