A study says that meat is cheaper in Argentina than in Brazil, Chile and Uruguay -study

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Is beef expensive in Argentina? On this question, the Institute for Studies on Argentine and Latin American Reality (Ieral), part of the Mediterranean Foundation, has prepared a report comparing prices for this product at the regional level.

In the first comparison with Uruguay, based on price data from public institutions/mixed institutions and including 15 cuts of beef for the final consumer (the same for both countries), it was found that in February 2022, the average value of this basket of cuts was US$8.75 per kilo in Uruguay and US$8.24/kilo in Argentina, that is, “Argentine beef was on average 6% cheaper than in Uruguay.”

“This price difference, considering that it averaged 27% in 2020 and 11% in 2021, always closes in favor of Argentina. However, it should be noted that meat was more expensive in Argentina in other years: in 2015, it was 18% more expensive, and in 2016 it was 8% more expensive″, the document states.

In comparison with Chile, also based on data from public institutions and sector representatives, and considering 13 cuts of beef for the final consumer, similar in both countries, the institution noted that “in February 2022, the average price of this basket in the Andean country was US$11.65/kilo, while in Argentina it was US$9.52/kilo.”

“In the month under review, beef was 18.3% cheaper in Argentina than in Chile. Again, this shows that the gap is still in favor of Argentina, although it has narrowed slightly, as it has averaged 30% over the last three years (2019-2021),” the organization said.

The economic body also drew a comparison with Brazil. It conducted a survey in supermarkets in the second half of March “to include Brazil in the price comparison.”

“The main conclusion is that Argentina continues to have the lowest price among the four countries surveyed, as in the previous surveys (2020 and 2021),” it said.

The average price (in this case for a basket of eight medium/high-quality cuts) in Argentina is just below US$14.00/kilo. At the same time, in neighboring countries, the values obtained are $15.00/kilo for Brazil and Uruguay and $16.00/kilo for Chile,” the study concludes.