Chinese consumers interested in tasting Argentine meat

About 64% of Chinese consumers, surveyed in supermarkets in this country, claimed that they had the intention of trying Argentine beef. In the Asian giant, Argentine meat is "new" because our country was able to access this market in 2011. But while about 86% of respondents have heard of Argentina as a country only 18% acknowledged having tasted Argentinian meat (and 23% having had the experience of consuming Argentine wine).

The data comes from the market research conducted by the international consultant Asian Agribusiness Consulting (AAC), commissioned by the Meat Promotion Institute Argentine Vaccine (IPCVA). The importance of this is that today China accounts for more than 50% of Argentine exports of this product. "It is very important to study the market to design strategies that allow us not only to increase sales to the industry but also to position ourselves as a high quality meat at a better price." badured Ulises Forte, president of IPCVA. the Chinese, who currently consume only six kilograms of beef a year, will eat 8.1 kilos in 2027. It is a market of over 1300 million inhabitants who do not self- and will not be able to do so, despite government initiatives in this regard, at least in the short and medium term.

According to Australian specialist Michael Boddington, responsible for the presentation, the Chinese market is "very complex and diverse" and the growth of the economy favors changes. dizzying trends in food, with increased demand for red proteins.

Currently, 16 countries are allowed to export beef to China. Of these, Australia, the United States and New Zealand (those who work in this market for longer) are best placed in the high-quality segment, while Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay in bulk, for the industry. "These six countries together account for more than 95 percent of China's imported meat," she said.

In 2017, the country imported 688 000 tonnes of beef, with this figure exceeding 1 million in less than 10 years. The vast majority of frozen meat, valued at 2.9 billion US dollars. The top three suppliers were Australia (90%), the United States (7%) and New Zealand (3%). Among the importers of meat, there are 2879, which are largely those who control the business. With regard to consumers, the study points out that 60% know the origin of the country's meat products that they buy.