“We are going to meet the quota without a doubt”: exponential growth in beef exports to the United States after the quota expansion

According to data from the ABC Exporters Consortium, between January and May, exports of chilled and frozen beef reached a total of 271,400 tons of product weight, worth 1,833.7 million dollarswhich represents year-on-year increases of 8% in volume and 44.7% in billing.

In this boom context, The main novelty came from the United States. It is that in the same period, Argentine exports of the emblematic product to that destination reached 42,000 tons compared to the 17,100 tons registered in the same cycle of 2025, a 145% growth in volume. While in terms of value, the jump was even more significant: sales totaled 355.4 million dollars compared to the 117.1 million obtained a year ago., what does u meann increase of 203%.

“The compliance we are having with the United States is very important,” he stressed. Mario Ravettinopresident of the ABC Argentine Meat Exporters Consortium.

Precisely, in May The United States received nearly 9,900 tons of chilled and frozen meats worth $85 million. consolidating itself as the second most important destination for Argentine exports of the month, only behind China, which is the undisputed leader with 60% of the market.

According to Ravettino, the improvement in export performance is directly linked to the expansion of the quota without tariffs to 100,000 tons, that is, 80 thousand tons more divided into 4 quarters of 20 thousand tons.

“April, May and June had excellent compliance. As of June 16, we had already shipped the 20,000 tons corresponding to the quarter and we had issued another 15,000 tons,” explained the manager during a conference held by the Argentine Beef Promotion Institute (IPCVA) on July 9. Likewise, on the same date Argentina had already completed 60.2% of the annual quota of 20,000 tons

According to the head of ABC, this level of compliance is key for future negotiations with the United States because the quota is annual and those 80,000 tons must be negotiated again by 2027. “This year we are going to meet the quota without a doubt and I think even before the December 31st deadline. If we continue with this rate of shipments, in October or November we will have completed the total,” he assured.

It is worth remembering that during the first quarter Argentina was not able to fully take advantage of the available quota due toThe scheme began to operate only in mid-Februaryso about 10,000 tons (50%) remained unused.

“We could not meet January, February and March because the proclamation of the president of the United States (Donald Trump) only came out on February 15. Furthermore, the quota is computed by date of entry into the North American country and not by date of shipment from Argentina. Added to this is that initially the measure contemplated a single tariff position and the incorporation of other positions had to be negotiated for two additional weeks,” he explained.

Prices also accompanied this expansion, continuing with data from the ABC Exporters Consortium. In May The average value of chilled meat exported to the United States exceeded $16,060 per tonwith a monthly improvement of 6.7%. Meanwhile, frozen meat was around $7,800 per ton, with an increase of 2.6% compared to April.

Thus, compared to the first five months of 2025, prices accumulate increases of 39% for chilled cuts and 22% for frozen cuts.

“Americans are big consumers of hamburgers, so we export significant volumes of trimmings for their preparation. We also send high-quality cuts, similar to those we market in the European Union, and kosher meat, destined for a very important Jewish community that demands this type of products,” he added.

It is worth mentioning Argentine officials, chamber directors and exporters participated between the end of April and the beginning of May in a trade mission to the United States, precisely in Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles, within the framework of the Meat Week which aimed to promote the product. And now they want to replicate it in other North American cities.

The increase in meat imports into the United States has to do with the lack of supply due to the weather that caused values ​​to rise on the counters. Compared to last year, consumer beef prices in North America have increased between 20% and 25%, depending on the cut analyzed.

One of the most representative cases is that of minced meat, the most consumed product in that market, which shows an average year-on-year increase of 23%, against an annual US inflation that is barely between 2.5% and 2.6%.