meat rose 15% in the last month

The price of meat jumped again, on average, it rose 15% in the last month. While inflation does not subside, filling the grill for barbecue becomes a privilege for few.

“Meat has risen 15% since October; the reality is that we would have to go little by little to international prices, prices are going to become stronger, they are not going to go down and they are going to continue rising,” said Sergio Pedace, vice president of the Argentine Chamber of Slaughterers and Suppliers, in statements to Agencia Noticias Argentinas.

The main explanation behind the increase must be found in the shortage of supply and, above all, in the pressure of international demand. According to data from the sector itself, while local production does not grow, trade with China and the prospects with the United States (after the new free trade agreement) push prices up. Local consumption is shrinking, but dollars rule.

Milei’s policies only deepen this scenario. The elimination of withholdings and the deregulation of the meat market represent a gift for exporters and large agricultural employers. The recent beginning of a free trade agreement with the United States, which includes meat, opens the door for the best cuts to go abroad, while meat is increasingly difficult to obtain in the neighborhoods. The logic is clear: it is produced to export and earn dollars, not to guarantee basic food for the population.

In 2024, meat exports grew by almost 10% compared to the previous year, reaching 936 thousand tons. Only 70% of the meat was left for domestic consumption, the lowest level in decades. Meanwhile, per capita consumption of beef fell to 49.5 kg annually, 7% less than two years ago and the second lowest level since 1914. With frozen salaries, the adjustment on retirees and public workers, more and more families have to leave the barbecue for the holidays, or forget about the grill altogether.

The concentration of the business: the owners of the meat

The business is good for a few, the large meat processing plants and landowners increasingly concentrate the work and export. Ten operators control 22% of the meat ownership, while the twenty largest plants process a third of the total slaughter.

The country produces food for hundreds of millions, but workers and their families cannot make ends meet. Milei’s deregulations, submission to the Yankees and the greed of refrigerators make eating meat increasingly difficult. The barbecue, that symbol of encounter and joy, became a luxury. For this to change, it is necessary to confront the concentrated groups, restore salaries and put foreign trade under the control of the workers so that meat reaches all tables and not just the bank accounts of a few.