Argentina at a glance
In theory, the potential for pork production in Argentina is enormous. With a population with a mostly catholic background, there are no religious reasons for the roughly 43 million souls not to eat pork. Nevertheless, with an abun- dance of beef available, it just hasn’t lived up to its potential. The country has plenty of space as well. With 2.8 million km2 the country is four times the size of Texas or even 5.5 times bigger than Spain. What might impede further development of the country’s pig business is the recent access that was granted to the United States to resume exports to Argentina.
In recent years, the volume of pig slaughter numbers has in- creased to around 20% per annum. About half of the total production is produced by four processors, which are the most industrially and technologically developed in the sector.
Major drivers of growth One of the major drivers of the growth is the increase in amount of cold storage plants, both in the private as well as in the public sectors. In 2016, six more were added to the to- tal, making sure that Argentina had a total of 261. According to specialists, the opening of new cold storage plants all over the country allowed the growth of more swine production. Another major driver of the strong development of pork is a changed consumer attitude towards pork. They have gradu- ally learnt to appreciate the nutritional properties of pork – its minerals, vitamins and low fat content. All these advantag- es have come hand in hand with a more affordable price in comparison to beef or chicken.
The Argentinean menu In terms of pork, popular on the Argentinean menu are chaci- nados – Spanish for dried or cured meat products. These, in combination with sausages, are one of the most popular forms of pork consumed. When fresh pork is consumed, usu- ally meat of weaner pigs is used. According to 2014 records, in total 71 Argentinean slaughter- houses are allowed to slaughter pigs over 22 kg. For that, they receive official approval by Senasa, an independent agency, charged with the surveillance, regulation and certification of products of animal and plant origin. The majority of these slaughterhouses are qualified to manufacture cold cuts and the aforementioned chacinados; in addition, 42 of them also are allowed to slaughter weaner pigs below 22 kg.
Exports and a new project Apart from expansion on the domestic market, there are more opportunities to think of for further growth: exports. After all, elsewhere on the planet there is a demand for both meat as well as by-products. Having the potential to supply the home market as well as those abroad simultaneously, Argentina has a competitive advantage over many other countries in the world. Between 2015 and 2016, Argentina’s exports grew by 26.65%, from 9.4 tonnes to 11.9 tonnes. The major destinations of Argentina’s meat were Hong Kong, Russia and South Africa, which together have taken more than 80% of the share. For all this, in October 2015, the cooperative ‘Argenpork’ was created, a consortium of companies exporting pork from Argentina. The cooperative, supported by the Argentinean Association of Pork Producers, consists of in total twelve pork producing companies. Major companies among these in- clude Cabaña Argentina (Pacuca), Isowean and Porcomagro. Jointly they hope to find more markets for the product that the world is going to need in increasing amounts.
Table 1 – Top-5 of pig producing provinces in Argentina, 2016.
Rank Province 1
2 Córdoba 3 4
5 Chaco Buenos Aires
Santa Fe Entre Ríos
Total pigs 1,265,686 1,126,531 772,840 378,258 259,920
Source: Anuario 2016, Ministry of Agriculture, Argentina. ▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 34, No. 5, 2018 7
Percentage 24.72% 22.00% 15.10% 7.39% 5.08%
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
PHOTO: DREAMSTIME
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