Argentina's beef consumption has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years as soaring prices and weakening purchasing power drive families to replace beef with cheaper proteins like chicken and pork.
Historic Decline in Red Meat Consumption
In the Mataderos neighborhood of Buenos Aires, workers unload sides of beef from a truck outside a butcher shop at 6 a.m., with customers lining up for wholesale purchases. Inside, 73-year-old owner Jorge Garcia and his staff prepare meat orders before dawn. Among the stacks of beef boxes and red meat cuts hanging from metal hooks, chicken and pork are increasingly present.
Red meat consumption in Argentina, historically one of the world's biggest consumers of beef, has dropped to its lowest level in two decades amid economic austerity measures imposed by libertarian President Javier Milei. As of April 2026, annual per capita beef consumption fell to 44.5 kilograms (98 pounds), down from 49.5 kilograms (109 pounds) a year earlier, according to the Agricultural Foundation for Argentina's Development. In 2006, it was 63.4 kilos (139 pounds) per person.
People are switching to cheaper proteins. They are eating pork and chicken, said Garcia.
Economic Austerity and Its Impact
Analysts attribute the decline to soaring beef prices, lower cattle supply, and weakened household purchasing power. The opening of Argentina's beef market to international trade has also pushed domestic prices closer to global levels. Beef moved into a completely different purchasing-power category. Workers' wages fell far behind, said Juampi Quintero, a 25-year-old meat distributor who estimated consumption among his clients has fallen by more than half.
Since taking office in December 2023 with annual inflation at 211%, Milei promised to eliminate what he called the cancer of inflation through an adjustment plan that included cuts equivalent to nearly one-third of public spending, symbolized by a chainsaw. The government succeeded in reversing the fiscal deficit and achieving a budget surplus, a rare result in Argentina's recent history, but the social cost of the austerity measures has drawn criticism.
Within months, Milei's administration eliminated 13 ministries, laid off about 30,000 public employees, halted public works projects, and reduced funding for key areas such as education, healthcare, and science, while also cutting subsidies for basic services like electricity, gas, water, and transportation.
That affects household income because families now have to pay more for services that were previously subsidized by the state, said economist Camilo Tiscornia. As a result, they have less disposable income and must give up certain more expensive goods, such as beef.
Rising Beef Prices and Falling Incomes
Beef prices rose more than 60% over the past year, reaching an average of 18,500 pesos ($13) per kilogram in Buenos Aires in May, according to the Argentine Beef Promotion Institute. In July 2025, Milei's government reduced export taxes on beef and poultry and removed production quotas to encourage overseas sales, reversing part of the restrictions imposed under former President Alberto Fernandez to curb rising domestic prices. The easing of export regulations came just as Argentina's beef production dropped by more than 10% due to floods and droughts, according to CICCRA, the nonprofit organization representing Argentina's beef producers.
Argentina's government said this week that beef exports rose 54% in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, totaling nearly 200,000 tons worth more than $1 billion. The increase followed a U.S. decision earlier this year to expand Argentina's tariff-free beef quota amid American cattle shortages. With the market opening up, producers began selling beef at prices closer to international levels.
Previously, all meats had similar prices, which encouraged high beef consumption that did not reflect its real production costs, agricultural consultant Ivan Ordonez explained.
Adapting to New Eating Habits
As beef becomes increasingly expensive for many Argentine families, chicken and pork are gaining ground as cheaper alternatives. We have chosen to buy pork and chicken because beef is too expensive, said shop owner Ruth Simon. Chicken costs an average of 4,900 pesos ($3.50) per kilogram, while pork ribs cost around 8,900 pesos ($6.30).
Garcia, the butcher shop owner, said he began selling chicken and pork less than a year ago after noticing changes in customers' eating habits. You have to adapt, he said. We cannot just sit around crying. No crying. We have to work. We have to keep our dignity. We have to fight.
