Livestock exports shoot up meat prices by 54%

BOGOTA COLOMBIA). Tuesday, February 22, 2022 (RPTV NEWS AGENCY). Live cattle exports sent meat prices skyrocketing at rates unprecedented in the history of livestock farming. In one year, the price per kilo registered an increase of 53.8%, going from 24,958 pesos per kilo in December 2020 to an average of 38,409 pesos per kilo in December 2021.

The fact, which seems positive for the livestock sector, is in practice a “double-edged sword” for the competitiveness of livestock production. On the one hand, high prices have generated a drop in the consumption of this food because the purchasing power of the population is not very large. On the other hand, they have caused changes in the meat trade to the detriment of thousands of vendors in the country.

That is why refrigerators and meat dispensers are concerned. The trade of this food registers drops in consumption and the traditional trade system presents changes that harm the activity.

For example, in some regions of the country, the consumer no longer buys meat by the pound or by the kilo. “It got to the point that the consumer buys two thousand or three thousand pesos of meat, so that they reach those little pesos” explain merchants of this food.

But why did this situation come about? The answer lies in exports of live animals, which have become the main cause for meat prices to increase disproportionately. Records of sales abroad indicate that the trade of animals abroad increased 250%, going from 75,370 heads of cattle exported in 2019 to 264,107 head of cattle sent abroad in 2020. However, and despite the fact that this activity presented a slight decrease in 6.4% between 2020 and 2021, the export trend tends to rise with great supply threats for the country. For example, in January this year, they exported 15,600 livestock to Lebanon and Egypt. Last weekend, 10,000 more copies were dispatched and another shipment of 10,000 copies is expected for February 15.

Undoubtedly, exports of live cattle marked unexpected increases in the price of meat and will continue if the government does not adopt measures to regulate this market, says the Executive President of the Colombian Meat Processing Association (Asofricol), Álvaro Urrea.

“The government has been insistently asked to issue regulations aimed at regulating live cattle exports, but it has ignored it,” explains Urrea, claiming the urgent need to have clear regulations so that animals for export meet weight requirements.

It is essential to adopt several measures so that meat prices stop their upward trend and the livestock sector is not harmed. One, urgently start a bovine repopulation program. Two, create norms that regulate live cattle exports, especially in relation to the weight of the animals.

ANIMAL PRICES

According to data supplied by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), the price of the fat steer registered considerable increases in the last three years. For example, from 2018 to 2019, prices grew 0.66%, in the period from 2019 to 2020, prices increased 14.12% and in the period from 2020 to 2021, prices increased by 39.62%.

FAT STEER PRICE

($ x kilo – average for each year)

YEAR PESOS

2018 4,243

2019 4,271 (Increased 0.66% compared to 2018)

2020 4,874 (Increase 14.12% in relation to 2019)

2021 6,805 (Increased 39.62% in relation to 2020)

MEAT PRICES

According to reports from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), meat prices showed increases of 4.21 in the period from 2019 to 2020 and 53.8% in force from 2020 to 2021.

MEAT PRICE PER KILO

YEAR PRICE IN PESOS

DEC. 2019 23,950

DEC. 2020 24,958 (Increased 4.21% compared to 2019)

DEC. 2021 38,409 (Increased 53.8% compared to 2020)

ANIMAL EXPORTS

The National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), reveals that the trade of live animals for export presented a vertiginous jump between the period 2019 and 2020. Sales grew by 250%, going from 75,370 animals exported in 2019 to 264,107 animals exported in 2020 .

In 2021, sales of live animals abroad totaled 247,171 animals, registering a slight decrease compared to exports in 2020.

YEAR QUANTITY OF ANIMALS

2018 54,595

2019 75,370 (Increased 38% compared to 2018)

2020 264,107 (Increased 250% compared to 2019)

2021 247,171 (Decreased 6.4% in relation to 2020)

According to Urrea, this growth in live animal exports has caused a substantial drop in the country’s livestock stocks, which means that the demand is much greater than the supply.

It is imperative that the government regulate live cattle exports, given that the country may experience shortages of meat with enormous consequences for the price and purchasing power of Colombians, calls for the Asofricol.

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2021

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Learn how Cali bets on exports and international tourism - Cali - Colombia

In a year with a pandemic and unemployment, Cali and Valle del Cauca did not stop looking for lights on the horizon. So the number of exporting companies from here it grew 5.7 percent annually, going from 1,061 companies in January-November 2020 to 1,122 companies in that period of 2021.

(We recommend you read: Beware of false appointments to get a passport in Valle del Cauca)

In that same perspective, investments and tourism appear as props to recover that rhythm of the economy. In less than one month comes a challenge for those who think of new markets.

is the Business Roundtable 2022, in its 90th edition and organized by ProColombia with the Cali Chamber of Commerce. For the first time, it is an appointment in two cities in parallel: Cali and Medellín.

Both capitals will contribute their potential before some 1,000 buyers from 50 countries, so that they feel attracted by the products, goods and services offered by 2,000 entrepreneurs interested in internationalization, says Isabella Mariño, leader of ProColombia in the western region of the country.

(Also: In Cali they enable property tax payments in person)

The Macro-round in the capital of the Valley will be held on March 31st and the first of April, after the one in Medellín, which will be on March 28 and 29.

In Cali it will be done in the Pacific Valley Event Center and the city hopes to respond as it did in international events such as the I Junior Pan American Games 2021.

The director of Competitiveness of the Cali Chamber of Commerce, Carlos Andrés Pérez, details that the Valley’s exports saved the year by reaching 1,835 million dollars, an increase of 1.2 percent compared to 2020. The figure could be higher , but the pandemic and unemployment had an impact, between last April and June, which left some 200 million dollars in losses.

“It will be the opportunity to celebrate 30 years of ProColombia”

(You may be interested: This was answered by Mayor Jorge Iván Ospina to Óscar Iván Zuluaga)

Within the resilience of the people of Cali, the capital stands up so that small and medium-sized companies can bet on the international Business.

According to ProColombia, Cali presents the conditions to receive visitors, seeking to strengthen the reactivation of the city.

Increase in sales is expected. In four years, the amounts were greater than 80 million dollars, in addition to more than 1,040 million dollars in expectations.

It must be taken into account that the inscriptions for the Macro-Round, a call that is free, They close this February 11.

(Also: Young people in Cali feel that their mental health worsened during the pandemic)

Export to Ecuador and Peru

Last year exported 171 new products. As destinations, Ecuador (31.4%), the United States (13.1%) and Spain (12.2%) registered the largest shares.

In exported tariff headings, the USA (17.2%), Mexico (15.7%), Peru (11.3%), Chile (9.0%) and Ecuador (5.1%) are registered.

CALI

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China Exports Its Traditional Medicine to Africa

NAIROBI — 

Hing Pal Singh is among dozens of patients with daily appointments at the Oriental Chinese Herbal Clinic in Nairobi.

Singh, 85, has been suffering from spinal problems for five years and is now trying herbal remedies.

“There is a slight difference,” Singh said. ” … It’s only a week now. It will take at least another 12 to 15 sessions. Then we see how it goes.”

Traditional Chinese medicine is becoming more popular in Africa, according to a 2020 study by Development Reimagined, a Beijing international consulting firm.

A February 2020 op-ed written by a Beijing think tank researcher and published in the state-run China Daily said such traditional medicine would “boost the Chinese economy, contribute to global health and prove to be a shot in the arm for China’s soft power.”

Potential harm

Conventional medical doctors such as Sultan Mantendechere, though, say patients are overlooking the potential harm that some herbal remedies can cause, especially if used too frequently or at too high a dosage.

“They do work in quite a number of circumstances,” Mantendechere said. “Having said that, our main worry as practitioners, the medical practitioners, is that the use of herbal medicine is not as regulated as we would want it to

Although the safety and effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine is still debated worldwide, herbal practitioners such as Li Chuan continue to gain popularity among those seeking alternative medication.

FILE – In this March 13, 2020 photo, bowls containing prescriptions for traditional Chinese medicine preparations are stacked on a counter at the Bo Ai Tang traditional Chinese medicine clinic in Beijing.

Li said some of his patients were benefiting from purported COVID-19 remedies, although there is scant scientific evidence that they can help against the disease.

“Many people buy our herbal tea to counter COVID-19,” Li said. “The results are good.”

Environmentalists fear the growth of traditional Chinese medicine will encourage poachers to go after endangered wildlife such as rhinos and some types of snakes used in making the potions.

Daniel Wanjuki, an environmentalist and the lead expert at Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority, said that “with people saying that the rhino horn may actually be used as an aphrodisiac, this has led to almost the complete eradication of the rhino species in Kenya and in Africa in general.”

Economical — if effective

Kenya spends an estimated $2.7 billion each year on health care, according to national statistics.

Kenyan economist Ken Gichinga said herbal medicine could significantly lower African medical expenses if proven effective.

“Africans spend quite a lot of money traveling to countries such as India and the UAE to get treatment” and would benefit if herbal medicine “can provide more natural, cost-effective health care,” he said.

In 2021, Kenya’s national drug regulator, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, approved the sale of Chinese herbal health products in the country. Practitioners such as Li hope that more nations will give approval to Chinese herbal medicine in the future.