Argentina's farm group challenges official beef export data

An Argentine farm group has challenged the official data of beef exports, saying that the figures were misleading and that shipments had in fact declined instead of increasing.

 

Exports fell to 397,347 tonnes in 2008 from 534,000 tonnes in 2007, said the Argentine Rural Confederation.

 

A report from farm export regulator ONCCA showed that beef export permits rose last year, but the Confederation said that was due to the inclusion of boned meat and trimmings, which should have been excluded.

 

The Confederation said the manipulation of data is meant to confuse the public, a claim that an ONCCA spokesman refuted, saying that the report only intended to show how the number of issued permits had increased.

 

Last year, the government and farmers agreed to cap beef exports at 550,000 tonnes, in an effort to curb food inflation. The Confederation said the government is trying to create a glut of cheap beef in Argentina.

 

Beef prices in Argentina fell 30 percent because of the government's control measures, said the Confederation.

 

Argentina exported 645,000 tonnes of fresh beef last year, exceeding the quota, while meatpackers also shipped 205,000 tonnes of cooked beef, said ONCCA.

 

Exports may be less than the permitted amount if meatpackers lowered shipments after getting permits, said ONCCA.

 

An association of farmers and ranchers in the provinces of Buenos Aires and La Pampa also said the amount of exported beef did not reach the permitted total.