The export of live cattle fell 65.9% this year compared to the 2021 recordaccording to data from the National Meat Institute (INAC) closed the week of November 30.
Uruguay exported 61,974 live animalswhile last year there were 181,847, for which the fall reached 119,873 bovine heads.
The president of the Union of Livestock Exporters of Uruguay, Rodrigo González, explained to The Observer that the last shipments to China (the main market to which Uruguay sells live cattle) were made in August and then the demand fell, because the real estate crisis suffered by that country “has hit a lot”, since real estate is the main sector as source of economic movement in the Asian giant.
On the one hand, companies have limited balance sheets to acquire credit. On the other, the flow of money from the government to companies has decreased, which occurs, for example, in financing plans for the purchase of cattle, he explained.
A very profitable market
61.3% of the live cattle that Uruguay exported this year were sent to China, 29.3% to Egypt and 9.4% to Turkey. Other markets were the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, according to data from INAC.
Gonzalez stressed that China, in addition to being the main market, gives good profitability, because “pays very well for breeding females Y rewards the producer for his geneticswhich has been a very good thing”.
The best-selling categories are heifers, and the breeds most chosen by external customers are Hereford, Aberdeen Angus and Holland.
The forecasts for next year are that the market flow improves over the second semester, he said.
“We hope that around March or April China will start moving again,” he said, adding that this will depend on how things happen there.
“It does not depend on us, it is not a question of prices, it is a question of demand,” he explained.
About him turkey marketto which shipments have been made lately, commented that little by little Demand has been improvingdespite the fact that the country has suffered the devaluation of its currency and also the condition of the lack of Russian tourists (its main audience) due to the war with Ukraine, which has led to a drop in demand for beef.
Although this year there were no logistical problems, because there was a good supply of boats available, “What got complicated were the costs, which increased”he commented.
The price of freight for live cattle – specially designed boats with pens – began to increase in late 2021, and this year continued the trend.
“There was a complicated combo: inflation worldwide and the devaluation of currencies against the dollar, which also had an impact, because the currency is a financial asset that moves faster than the market changes,” he explained.
Now, next year is seen with optimismhe stressed.
One piece of advice: look at Southeast Asia
Gonzalez indicated that The advisable thing, “if we want to look for something new”, is to open new markets in Southeast Asia“because it is where I consider that cattle can be placed better, because there is better demand, and cattle can also be placed for slaughter.”
As he highlighted, if exporters want to boost sales, they would have to open up the Chinese market for slaughter cattle. “That would be a brutal help for livestock, as well as opening up some other market like Indonesia or Vietnam, in order to have more sales options for fattening cattle,” the businessman concluded.
best sellers
More than half, 58.5%, are bovines from one to two years old, most of which are sent for reproduction. This year, 59.5% of the cattle were sent to that destination, while in 2021 only 32.8% were marketed for that purpose at their destination.
Secondly, 40.5% were exported for fatteninga destination that last year corresponded to 67.2%.
Most of the cattle (61.4%) exported were femaleswhile 38.6% males.
