COUNTRY FOCUS ▶▶▶
Argentina’s pig business is breaking records
Argentina may be the world’s eighth-largest country – in terms of pig production it has been a relatively small player. Things however are set to change, as the industry in Argentina is growing rapidly. Time for an update from the pampas.
Argentinean-style pig chorizo, ready to go into the oven.
BY AGUSTINA BRUNO, TRANSLATOR, ARGENTINA; AND VINCENT TER BEEK, EDITOR, PIG PROGRESS
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www.pigprogress.net/ worldofpigs
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o put things into perspective, in terms of number of pigs (5 million vs almost 40 million), Argentina can- not match its neighbour Brazil. Nevertheless, there is no denying that pig production in Argentina has
made tremendous steps in the last decade. Figures supplied by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) show that pig numbers stayed fairly stable between 2000 and 2010 around the 2 million head mark, but after 2010 the total pig inventory suddenly went up rapidly, as is shown in Figure 1. In 2016, the FAO reported that total pig numbers were 5.1 million.
Figure 1 - Pig number development in Argentina, 2000-2016.
Distribution around the country Swine production can be found all over Argentina. Never- theless, there is a concentration of farms in the north of the province of Buenos Aires, in the south of Santa Fe province and in the heart of Córdoba province, all relatively close to the country’s capital Buenos Aires, with a metropolitan area of 17 million inhabitants, by far the largest people hub in the country. These three provinces jointly take care of roughly 60% of the total swine production in Argentina. Circumstances for swine production in Argentina are good, with a relatively low population density and freedom from various diseases, most notably Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD). The country’s last-known outbreak dates from 2006 and it has the status ‘free from FMD’ with the OIE. Recent figures may emphasise the recent record-breaking developments. In terms of consumption, official figures from the Argentinian ministry of agriculture show that in 2016, a record of 12.88 kg of pork was eaten per capita. This figure was the highest figure since 1992. Production-wise, similar trends can be observed. In 2016, the ministry reported a year-on-year increase in produced pork of 7.7% in comparison to 2015 (522,428 tonnes vs. 485,100 tonnes). This is reflected in the number of pig slaughtered (+8.4%) in the same time frame. In 2016, a total of 5,986,561 animals were slaughtered vs. 5,523,715 pigs in the year before.
▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 34, No. 5, 2018
Pig numbers (x 1 million)
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
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