October 7, 2010
Argentina aiming to increase EU beef quota
A delegation of Argentine beef industry and government representatives are scheduling a visit to the European Commission in early October to request for an increase in EU beef quota.
The group is requesting for the extra 2,000 tonnes of High Quality Beef Hilton quota, granted due to compensation for the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU in 2007, to be made available for the current 2010-11 fiscal year.
The additional tonnage, which will take Argentina's HQB entitlement to 30,000 tonnes, is not expected to be effective until the 2011-12 fiscal year.
If granted, Argentine suppliers are likely to face a challenge in filling the 30,000 tonne quota, due to low supplies of heavy steer product, coupled with government export controls designed to restrain surging domestic beef prices.
During 2009-10, Argentina only exported 46% of its total HQB quota (12,865 tonnes swt), due to a four month administrative delay in distributing the quota distribution and because of low product availability after the quota was granted.
