In May, when restrictions on the sector’s exports were in place, economic cuts rose 15% in the metropolitan area, while the most expensive only increased 5% on average, in both cases above the expected inflation of 4%. This behaviour is a matter of concern to the Government and closely followed by the Ministry of Internal Trade.
According to data from the Institute for the Promotion of Argentine Beef (IPCVA), in the metropolitan area osobuco rose 9.9% in May, and went from $450 to $500 per kilo. In the market, they say that the profitability that the refrigerators lost due to the export trap is being recovered by the rise in prices in the domestic market, which is contrary to what the authorities expected. The survey shows that the cuts consumed by the lower income sectors rose more than the premium ones. Roast beef increased 13%, from $760 to $880 in the last ten days, buttock lid and shoulder became more expensive 12%, from $710 to $820, and popcorn rose 12%, from $530 to $590 a kilo. Ipcva’s fieldwork was carried out during the first and second half of May 2021.
The sample under analysis is restricted to 80 butchers of capital and conurbano. The monitoring of prices in supermarkets was done in 40 points of sale relieved in person. The prices of the different cuts of beef showed, on average, significant increases, of 6.1%, in May 2021 compared to April. Meanwhile, the price of fresh chicken showed prices with moderate increases, with a variation of 1.7% in May compared to April. For its part, the price of pork breast showed values with moderate rises in the same period, advancing 3.8% compared to April.
As for the May 2020 values, according to the IPCVA report, chicken rose 58.8% and pork 67%. On the other hand, in 40 supermarkets surveyed, the average price of beef showed significant increases, with a variation of 5.6% compared to April, and exhibited an increase of 86.5% compared to May 2020.
