Argentina’s export-quality beef price hits its highest level of the year

Cattle prices in Argentina have risen sharply this year, with demand expected to remain strong through 2025, including for export bulls.

The price of these bulls—regardless of whether they are destined for the Hilton quota or the 481 feedlot quota—averages 7,500 pesos per kilogram of hooked meat.

Converted to “meat dollars,” this price is 5.40 pesos per kilogram of produced product, the highest level this year and certainly one of the highest in recent history.

To arrive at this price, we use the wholesale dollar exchange rate at Banco Nación, which is used for export settlements, and subtract the 5% tax paid to the treasury. This results in a dollar exchange rate for this sector of the animal, 1,369 pesos.

In this context, the price paid by Argentine meat processing plants, as well as exporters without their own plants, for steers is the highest in the Southern Cone countries.

According to the Association of Producers and Exporters (APEA), the hooked price for steers in Uruguay is $5.15 per kilogram, in Paraguay it is $4.13, and in Brazil it is $3.75.

The local meat processing industry pays 5% more for beef than the Uruguayan, 31% more than the Paraguayan, and 44% more than the Brazilian.

This is partly due to the value of the dollar, which has exceeded 1,500 pesos, but mainly due to a beef shortage. Argentina is short of bulls, and therefore companies are paying prices that “no business can justify, especially now that the Hilton quota has been reduced by 10%,” says Sebastian Castillo of the Abuelo Julio export group.

The price of high-quality cuts exported to Europe under the Hilton quota is still very good: $17,000 per ton, although it has fallen from the peaks of previous months, when it reached $19,000/$19,500.

Furthermore, China was forced to wait for the determination of a safeguard measure, which was subsequently postponed until the end of January. Despite the postponement, port inspections continue, delaying meat imports and increasing trade costs.

Meat exports had a difficult start this year, but profitability has improved thanks to rising prices in various markets. However, industry leaders warn that the situation will become more challenging by the end of the year.

This situation is leading meat processing plants to increasingly become “breadwinners,” taking on the primary role in raising and fattening cattle to reduce commercial costs and, above all, to secure their own cattle supplies and thus become less dependent on producers.

In feedlots providing services to third parties, 55% of cattle are owned by exporters, and according to the Feedlot Chamber of Commerce, this percentage is trending upward. The remaining 45% is owned by slaughterhouses or meat processing plants for consumption, and this percentage is trending downward in cattle ownership.

Tags: Beef cattle, Argentina