Argentine beef poised to make a comeback

A few years ago Argentina slashed its meat exports due to a shortage of meat in the domestic market, but it currently wishes to regain lost ground.

Despite the fact that in the past century Argentina was the world's largest exporter of meat, currently it occupies only fourth place.

Beef exports account for the bulk of export volume of Argentine meat. The per capita consumption of beef in the country currently stands at 75 kilogrammes per year, 28 kg more than in the US. The number of cattle in the country is 51 million head.

Russia is one of the largest importers of Argentine beef as many processing plants in the country use Argentine meat. According to Russian Ria Novosti Agency, last year prices for the Argentine beef rose by 40% and amounted to US$4/kg, while beef imports from the country totalled 110,000 tonnes.

Russia may increase imports of meat from Argentina in the near future, said officials.