April 26, 2021

Argentina imposes meat export registration, causing worries of export limits

Argentina has reestablished a meat export registration system on April 20, leading to worries among cattle producers of possible export limits as the government attempts to keep domestic food prices down in the face of double-digit inflation.

A resolution published in the government's gazette said the registration system for foreign sales was necessary to help avoid "possible imbalances in the domestic meat market in terms of supply, price and quality."

Farmers and ranchers fear an increase in regulations aimed at limiting international shipments after previous Peronist governments tried unsuccessfully to tame domestic food price inflation by clamping down on food exports.

The registration of beef exports and limits on shipments were imposed during the 2008-2015 administrations of former President Cristina Fernandez, but were scrapped by her successor Mauricio Macri.

"We express our most absolute rejection of the reinstatement of the export registry, in this case for meat, and other interventionist measures," the farm sector said in a statement issued by Argentina's main rural organisations.

"Behind these measures hides the mistaken view that the generalised rise in prices responds to the fact that the food market presents tensions between exports and the domestic market," it added.

Argentina is one of the world's main suppliers of beef and grains, but President Alberto Fernandez has a tense relationship with the agricultural sector.

- Reuters