Russian trade restrictions placed on EU and US meat imports has opened the door for Argentina to ramp up exports.

According to Russian officials, Argentina will double the volume of meat exported to the region from 15,000t last year to 30,000t by 2015. Most of Argentina’s meat exports to Russia consist of frozen and chilled beef.

While the increase in beef exports is sizeable and will add significant monetary value, the total tonnage is a long way short of the volume of meat Argentina previously exported to the region. A decade ago, Argentina was one the largest global exporters of beef and it was supplying Russia with approximately 150,000t of frozen and chilled meat per annum.

Quality control

There are quality control measures included in the new trade agreement due to previous food safety fears on meat imported from South America. Exports of pigmeat from Argentina are also set to increase.

It is unlikely that they will be able to fill the void left by the Russian ban on US poultry, which is around 200,000t per annum.

Belarus is another country that will see its beef imports to Russia double this year.