Exports are the missing piece in Argentina's pork industry

The report describes the evolution of Argentina's pork export market over the last 14 years. This aspect is perhaps the most missing piece, given that the sector's sustainable growth has been driven almost exclusively by domestic consumption.

• A total of 208,314 t were exported from 2010 - 2023, with an average of 14,880 t per year. The annual average produced during the same period was 474,918 t, meaning an average of 3.1% of the total produced was exported.

• Export revenues in dollars from 2010-2022 were USD 308.3 million, with an average annual revenue of USD 23.7 million and an average annual value per exported ton of USD 1,584.

• The leading destination countries during the period 2011 - 2022 were: China, 42,198 t (21.9%); Hong Kong, 41,498 t (21.8%); Russia, 35,256 t (18.5%); South Africa, 19,672 t (10.3%) and Angola, 8,055 t (4.2%).

• By category, a total of 190,634 tons were exported in the 2011-2022 period, corresponding to frozen meat, 72,252 tons (37.9%); offal and viscera, 37,647 tons (19.7%); edible offal, 36,899 tons (19.3%); casings, 17,708 tons (9.3%); fats and oils, 9,695 tons (5.1%); meals, 9,370 tons (4.9%) and sausages, 4,074 tons (2.1%).

• From 2011-2022 the Argentine pork sector accounted for 0.18% (15,886 t) of the world annual average exports (8,615,417 t).

The table shows the average annual tons produced and exported and the annual averages in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile during the 2011-2023 period.

Annual average tons	Argentina	Brazil	Chile
Production	529,426	3,746,250	545,424
Exports	15,886	803,118	220,866
% Exported	3.0	21.4	40.5

Source: Bioeconomy Secretariat Yearbooks. 2011-2023

In the 2021-2022 season, out of a total of 59 million tons (Mt) of corn produced, only 20 million tons were destined for domestic consumption (animal feed, direct consumption by animals), which means that 33.8% of the corn produced is transformed in the country into another product with higher added value.

A similar situation occurs with soybean meal and expeller since 13.2% of the 28 Mt produced in the aforementioned season were used in the country as a protein source for animals. The rest is exported to other countries.

The report shows that Argentina has a strong grain and protein source production that ends up being almost nonexistent in the participation of international trade of one of the most demanded meats in the world. This is reflected in the comparative table with Brazil and especially with Chile, which is not a strong producer of grains, but rather an importer of grains (Argentina's grains), and exports on average more than 40% of the pork it produces while Argentina only exports 3%.