Per capita beef consumption in Argentina slumped 9.5 percent in August, with people eating almost five kilos less beef over the past year, according to data from CICCRA (Cámara de la Industria y el Comercio de Carnes y Derivados de la República Argentina) chamber group.
A CICCRA report showed that apparent beef consumption during the first eight months of the year totalled 1.377 million tonnes, a fall of 175,600 tonnes compared with the same period last year.
The decline is clearly reflected in per capita consumption. The average over the past 12 months stood at 46 kilos per person – 9.5 percent below the average recorded in August 2025, equivalent to an annual reduction of 4.9 kilos per inhabitant.
The fall in consumption is linked to the dynamics of retail prices. Despite a small monthly uptick of 0.2 percent on average, meat and meat products have recorded an interannual price increase of 42.3 percent, well above the general inflation rate of 33.7 percent.
CICCRA said meat and meat products were among the two categories with the largest price increases over the past year, with the report stating that “the rise was the product of the falling supply of cattle sent to slaughter.”
For beef cuts specifically, the price increase was even greater, reaching 51.2 percent year-on-year in August. By contrast, chicken prices advanced at a slower pace of 24.2 percent over the same period. In the last 12 months, the relative price of beef went up 21.8 percent when compared to chicken.
By individual cuts, the largest increases between August this year and August last year were recorded for carne picada común (minced beef), up 52.7 percent; asado (ribs), up 52.1 percent; cuadril (rump), up 51.9 percent; nalga (topside), up 50 percent; and paleta (shoulder), up 49 percent. The price of a box of frozen hamburgers rose 56.6 percent year-on-year.
The report also found that beef supplies to the domestic market contracted 11.3 percent during the first eight months of the year, “giving rise to the significant increase in the relative price of beef.”
While domestic consumption has declined, exports have moved in the opposite direction, with 6.5 percent annual growth in the volume sent abroad during the first eight months of the year.
The increase was driven by higher sales to the United States, “fundamentally driven by the opportunities created by the quota granted by the US government in late 2025.”
– TIMES/NA
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