May 5, 2006

 

Argentina's exporters concerned over beef held by customs

 

 

Argentina's exporters are growing increasingly worried about the fate of at least 7,000 tonnes of beef exports that are being held by customs officials at local ports, said Pablo Kiryluk, a spokesman for the Argentine Beef Consortium, which represents Argentina's leading beef exporters.

 

"There are about 350 containers beef that are stuck in Buenos Aires and Santa Fe, waiting to be shipped to Europe," he said. "Each container has 20-22 tonnes of beef but they cannot be shipped because President Kirchner has made a decision to prevent them from being exported."

 

The containers, which have been stuck for almost three weeks, hold about US$55 million of processed, frozen and fresh beef, Kiryluk said.

 

"There is no law that is stopping the meat from being shipped," he said. "It's not even legal to hold the beef, so this is quite problematic. The consequences are terrible for the beef industry ."

 

The containers should be on their way to European importers who agreed to buy the products before Kirchner banned beef exports earlier this year, Kiryluk said.

 

Kirchner banned most beef exports in a bid to cap domestic beef prices, though he made an exception for certain cuts such as top-dollar cuts consumed by European customers.

 

Kiryluk said the ban on exports has caused many meatpackers to suspend workers and could lead more factories to close their doors permanently. At least 1,000 beef industry workers have been laid off already and are receiving unemployment insurance from the federal government, he added.

 

"If the exports are not freed this week, legal action will be taken, either by European importers, who will file suits against the Argentine government, or by Argentine companies," Kiryluk said.

 

Meanwhile, many ranchers are upset about the export ban and many have called for a protest against the policy.

 

"The situation is not good," Kiryluk said. "Ranchers are planning to make May 25 a protest day. They are going to make this date known as the day that Kirchner killed the ranching industry."