The recent upending of Brazilian beef in China led cattle ranchers from Argentina to get more approvals for additional meatpacking plants in the mainland even going so far as to have a trade delegation go down to China to meet with potential buyers of the South American country's sirloins and T-bone steaks.
Chinese teams just inspected Argentine local meat plants coinciding with the great rise that Argentine beef exports this year enjoys as China diversifies its protein supply because of the African swine fever that continues to ravage its domestic herd.
This rise in their beef export is also an important moment in No. 3 economy in Latin America that is trying to get out of a deep recession and debt crisis before its October elections usher in a new government.
Chinese beef imports changed global beef flows.
China is the fastest-growing beef import market for 2019 while the world's top suppliers are Oceania and South America.
Several countries have been exporting a good chunk of their beef to China.
Even if Argentina exports cheaper to the world's second-biggest economy, according to data from INDEC (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos), its sales in China doubled to $870 million in just the first seven months of 2019.
Argentina has definitely lowered its beef shipments to the US because of the strong demand of its beef in China.
China accounted for 73% of Argentine beef exports in 2019.
Chinese customs data indicate that around 185,604 tons of Argentine beef topped China's import market with 21.7%, a major turnaround at 129% presently compared with the data from 2018.
Unlike American beef that feeds on grains, Argentinian cattle feed on the grass where they graze in freedom in fields giving them a leaner, more flavorful and more nutritious meat with more omega-3 fatty acids.
Working closely with Argentina's food safety body Senasa, Santiago del Solar, chief of staff to Argentina's agriculture minister said that many of their slaughterhouses are up for approval by the Chinese government.
A source discloses that a team also recently went to Argentina to visit meat plants saying that the "plants issue is pretty good."
A second source, a manager at a state-owned Chinese trading house said that upon meeting with a firm from Argentina who met with customs officials, he learned that it had been given a thumbs up for exports.
Miguel Schiariti, president of the CICCRA meat industry chamber, confirmed an inspection of an Argentine plant alongside Senasa to get the facility approved for export.
Schiariti added that these facilities meet the criteria for approval "but the Chinese have always been very cautious."
He thinks that plants might get approved after November.
