Former Undersecretary of the Ministry of Agricultural Markets Javier Preciado Patinoemphasized on Channel E that Argentina is going through an irreversible reshaping of the meat market, as beef begins to differentiate itself from chicken and pork, in line with what is happening globally.
Javier Preciado Patiño described the situation as a profound cultural change: “Beef It’s expensive meatwhich may be 50 or even 180% More expensive than chicken or pork. So far, this has not happened here.” However, he confirmed that the phenomenon has already begun to appear in the gondola.
The impact of food costs on butcher shops
He also explained that this difference in prices responds to basic production issues: “For a cow to weigh one kilo, you have to give it 7 kilos of food. For a pig to do the same, they give it 3 kilos, and for a chicken, 2 and a half kilos.” So the food cost difference at some point would have reached the butcher shop“.
“You don’t want to admit it There is not enough beef “For 48 million Argentines,” Preciado said, noting that decades ago the relationship between supply and population was very different: “There were two cows for every Argentine.” Today There is a cow for every Argentine“.
Animal protein “blend”.
At the same time, he stressed that there is no going back: “We are very well supplied with meat protein, but with a new mixture. Beef provides 40-45% of consumption. “It seems to me that this matter is now irreversible.”
The interviewee warned that barbecue eating would become increasingly sporadic: “There is no meat more expensive than grilled meat“You pay more for a kilo that you put in your stomach than for a loin.”
On the other hand, he presented a comparative analysis between countries showing how the price of beef far exceeds the price of chicken. “In Japan, You have to pay 180% more. In Brazil, eat beef It costs twice as much as chicken or pork“.