Argentina and Uruguay

by Gordon Ross

The Meat Trade recognizes an average difference of weight between Argentine and Uruguayan beef and between Argentine, Uruguayan and “Patagonian” mutton. Argentine quarters of beef run about 12 to the ton and Uruguayan about 14 to the ton. Argentine mutton carcases run about 40, Uruguayan about 45 to the ton, and mutton carcases from Patagonia (in Argentina) some 2 or 3 lbs. lighter than Uruguayan.

Already in March, 1915, British Trade Reports showed that the meat trade in Great Britain was particularly dull on account of the extremely high prices ruling and the impossibility of retailers being able to get an equivalent in their shops. Since then, through the fact of the Governments of the belligerent powers being, as they are and are expected to be, large buyers, the conditions of the British Trade have been completely, if temporarily, changed by the War.[44]

MEAT TRADE EXPORTS FROM 1885 TO 1913

YEARS	Frozen & chilled beef $ gold	Frozen mutton $ gold	Sundry frozen meats $ gold	Preserved meats $ gold	Extract of beef $ gold	Powder of meat $ gold	Preserved tongues $ gold	LIVE STOCK		Condensed soup $ gold	Jerked beef $ gold	Totals $ gold
								Cattle $ gold	Sheep $ gold
1885	1,680	75,323	—	—	—	—	—	2,345,313	58,552	—	4,204,077	6,684,945
1886	12,800	360,508	1,876	—	169,991	—	27,267	2,203,150	41,557	—	3,738,820	6,555,969
1887	—	963,112	8,837	—	75,888	15,250	20,990	1,415,625	42,884	8,257	2,398,424	4,949,267
1888	3,326	1,459,839	38,343	13,809	128,080	117,457	56,668	1,798 251	34,685	—	3,456,787	7,107,245
1889	58,742	1,322,604	17,930	101,714	105,668	19,830	58,706	3,194,113	66,526	6,889	6,139,875	11,092,597
1890	53,029	1,633,105	—	42,661	375,132	19,175	185,412	3,579,456	159,428	10,547	3,913,304	9,971,249
1891	5,902	1,862,247	31,211	258,926	389,454	62,116	195,753	3,997,270	387,545	7,728	3,566,854	10,765,006
1892	22,695	2,034,898	49,217	633,601	520,892	226,288	198,813	2,264,675	170,422	6,455	4,100,488	10,589,044
1893	222,279	2,003,254	34,324	196,080	198,070	75,497	171,584	4,433,944	362,904	—	4,115,134	11,813,070
1894	12,400	1,864,110	59,645	65,250	134,393	21,562	266,144	4,540,160	448,678	—	4,564,447	11,976,789
1895	63,482	1,675,273	16,120	92,325	208,399	21,217	158,911	7,003,230	1,292,527	12,069	4,225,419	14,768,972
1896	119,863	1,804,205	24,204	204,315	683,487	13,551	127,980	6,543,550	1,536,056	61,964	3,217,541	14,336,716
1897	169,644	2,035,778	27,903	115,127	257,772	5,582	112,270	5,018,222	1,512,684	22,941	2,466,313	11,744,236
1898	234,681	2,393,358	38,839	162,294	605,522	58,034	112,044	7,690,450	1,733,963	32,447	2,116,468	15,178,100
1899	363,141	2,265,069	36,863	181,600	765,504	—	116,439	6,824,010	1,631,041	29,342	2,038,413	14,251,422
1900	2,458,957	4,512,973	70,797	140,480	230,416	—	204,196	3,678,150	594,675	24,005	1,979,557	13,894,206
1901	4,490,447	5,041,023	91,648	94,717	433,590	—	205,525	1,980,372	78,248	16,217	2,879,455	15,311,242
1902	7,001,833	6,405,804	163,820	164,404	592,696	—	167,854	2,848,445	368,656	11,769	2,647,450	20,372,731
1903	8,151,956	6,251,959	203,973	374,154	693,174	—	142,170	4,437,420	503,241	100,599	1,542,018	22,400,664
1904	9,774,354	7,089,287	272,308	242,861	414,188	4,885	189,400	2,852,820	85,219	114,044	1,391,931	22,431,297
1905	15,285,693	6,268,059	356,299	248,826	870,950	599,460	155,615	5,160,483	364,209	122,066	3,738,444	33,170,104
1906	15,380,897	5,391,055	400,275	125,908	842,142	959,203	91,200	1,676,145	315,359	70,614	596,643	25,849,441
1907	13,822,162	5,582,781	450,198	159,477	1,791,574	1,536,828	227,119	2,062,390	331,701	107,789	1,178,056	27,250,075
1908	18,081,443	6,307,688	740,421	178,057	1,379,952	1,239,918	262,058	1,876,820	311,376	115,822	772,819	31,266,374
1909	21,065,747	5,319,612	649,206	639,013	2,702,988	1,057,675	360,444	4,087,820	265,908	188,735	1,325,053	37,662,201
1910	25,370,815	6,008,133	721,618	1,215,370	3,046,680	1,267,964	284,352	4,056,450	231,540	204,293	1,033,020	43,440,235
1911	31,283,396	6,873,285	946,859	1,541,333	1,031,154	904,730	214,150	8,202,750	332,070	175,744	1,661,615	53,167,086
1912	34,285,076	5,613,971	1,017,992	1,769,882	1,223,860	1,349,557	189,523	9,140,089	314,694	197,433	1,400,748	56,502,816
1913	36,622,889	3,674,206	910,311	1,257,391	1,598,136	1,097,566	131,952	6,848,830	311,991	375,392	658,097	53,486,761
Totals	244,419,329	104,092,519	7,381,037	10,219,575	21,469,752	10,673,945	4,634,539	122,120,394	13,888,339	2,023,161	77,067,270	617,989,860
= £	48,495,900	20,653,277	1,464,480	2,027,693	4,259,871	2,117,846	919,551	24,230,236	2,755,622	401,421	15,291,125	122,617,022

During 1914 the meat producers and importers were alarmed by the purchase of most of the chief River Plate cold storage establishments by United States companies, who were credited with the intention of forming a “combine” to monopolize the industry. Certainly at the commencement of 1914 they were paying high prices to estancieros and selling considerably increased exports at low prices in the British markets. It would appear, however, as if matters were in the course of adjustment between all the River Plate Cold Storage companies when the War came and, as has just been indicated, altered all the conditions of the meat markets.

For all the above causes it is difficult to assign a value[45] to recent River Plate Meat Exports. Exports which it must be remembered leave no record as having paid ad valorem export duty, since they are duty-free exports.

As for the future of this trade there can be little doubt but that it will continue to increase commensurately with the available quantity of live stock of high quality. The Cold Storage Companies will buy no other and thus have constantly encouraged and advanced scientific breeding on the River Plate. It may safely be assumed that this trade is not likely to lose by the occurrence or effects of the War.

Recently, in view of what seemed a threatened shortage of cattle for export demands, producers commenced breeding from one-year-old cows; instead of beginning only at two years of age, as formerly was the South American custom.