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 ...