04/07/06 Argentinia`s move on inflation

Argentina Inflation Move A country just suspended beef exports to curb inflation. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll tell you about it right after this. Argentina just put a six-month suspension on beef exports to try to slow inflation in that country. Argentina is the world's fifth largest beef producer, but it also a country of big meat eaters. The official forecast is for inflation to rise eight to ten percent, and this, coupled with high live cattle prices puts beef out of the reach of many Argentine pocketbooks. President Nestor Kirchner hopes the ban on most beef product exports will keep international demand from making beef too expensive for Argentines. Argentina exempted about five percent of its beef exports from the ban. The Hilton Quota fine beef cuts and a few other exemptions will allow about 28,000 metric tons of beef to be exported. In 2005 Argentina exported almost 600,000 metric tons of beef. These exports went to over 80 countries including Russia, the European Union, and some South American countries. Their worth was right at $1.4 billion. Lets see, half of almost 570,000 metric tons of beef trade was just cancelled. I wonder if our U.S. traders could possibly work on filling that gap if our trade policies and agreements aren't too restrictive. I would hope it wouldn't be any harder than trying to get U.S. beef back into Japan. I'm Jeff Keane. Western Livestock Reporter 3/15/06