06/22/2024 – 13:48
By Candelaria Grimberg
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Famous for steakhouses, vast cattle ranches, barbecues and “parrilla”, Argentines are consuming less meat than ever, forced to tighten their belts by triple-digit inflation and a recession.
Meat consumption has fallen by almost 16% this year so far in the South American country, where it has always been an essential part of the social fabric, alongside football and mate.
Many Argentine homes have barbecue grills around which families gather. Steakhouses are spread across Buenos Aires and people gather at makeshift grills to enjoy the meat, even at construction sites or protests.
“Meat is an integral part of the Argentine diet, it’s as if pasta has disappeared for Italians,” retired Claudia San Martín, 66, told Reuters, standing in line at a butcher’s shop.
She said she’s willing to cut back on other purchases, like cleaning supplies, but meat is sacred.
“The Argentines can eliminate anything, I think, in difficult times like this. But we can’t do without meat,” he said.
Still, latest data shows that Argentines this year are eating meat at a rate of about 44 kg per year, a sharp drop from more than 52 kg last year and up to 100 kg per year in the 1950s.
Part of the decline over the decades results from a long-term shift to other meats, such as pork and chicken, as well as cheaper staples such as pasta. But this year’s slump was driven by nearly 300% inflation and a stagnant economy, as well as harsh austerity measures by libertarian President Javier Milei.
Poverty is growing, more people are homeless in large cities and lines have grown at soup kitchens. Many families have reduced their consumption of products such as meat, milk and vegetables. And they say they have not yet been able to feel the benefits of the slowdown in monthly inflation.
“The situation at this moment is critical. Consumers are making decisions thinking only about their pockets,” said Miguel Schiariti, president of the local meat chamber, CICCRA, whose expectation is that meat consumption will remain depressed.
“People’s purchasing power is weakening month by month.”
LESS MEAT, MORE PASTA
In the agricultural lands of Buenos Aires province, cattle ranchers are feeling the impact.
“The drop in consumption is worrying,” said Luis Marchi, 48, an agricultural engineer and third generation in charge of the family business, which produces grains and cattle.
“Meat consumption has been dropping a lot recently,” he added, blaming inflation and the economic crisis.
“Consumers try to replace steaks with cheaper foods, other types of meat or pasta.”
With the drop in local consumption, exports grew, but lower global prices reduced this benefit to farmers. By far the main buyer of Argentine meat is China, although it imports cheaper cuts that are not used domestically.
“The export sector is going through a very difficult time, although it continues to export in large volumes. Prices on the international market have fallen a lot,” said Schiariti.
CHEAPER CUTS
At his butcher shop in Buenos Aires, where he has worked for 40 years, Gerardo Tomsin, 61, said people still buy beef but are always looking for cheaper deals.
“People keep coming, the problem is that they consume less. There are people who turn to other products. It’s a permanent search for prices,” he said.
Another butcher, Dario Barrandeguy, 76, said people were buying the cheapest cuts of beef or other cheaper meats.
“The consumption of chicken and pork has increased a lot recently,” he said.
Milei, a free-market economist who calls himself anarcho-capitalist, ended the previous Peronist government’s freeze on beef prices.
“Things have become very expensive, and when they are so expensive, we just don’t buy them,” said Facundo Reinal, a 41-year-old teacher, adding that this means spending less time socializing around the grill.
“We are seeing that, in general, people are having fewer barbecues, which is a fundamental part of the culture here in Argentina.”
(Reporting by Candelaria Grimberg)
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