CHICAGO - Argentina began shipping fresh beef to U.S. supermarkets last month after a 70-year absence and now it wants to ship beef to Japan, South Korea, Mexico and Indonesia, said Juan Moche, director of Argentina's Compania Elaboradora de Productos Alimenticios S.A. (CEPA).
"We are targeting two markets that we want to open soon, that is Japan and (South) Korea," Moche told food company officials attending the Worldwide Food Expo here.
Moche said CEPA is Argentina's largest beef exporting company.
In May, Argentina was declared free of foot and mouth disease by the International Organization of Epizootics, which frees that country to ship beef worldwide. However, Moche said Japan, South Korea, Mexico and Indonesia still block imports of Argentina beef.
He said Jamaica and Caribbean countries remain closed to Argentina beef, but those markets should open soon.
"We started shipping in September (to the U.S.) about 50 tonnes a week, and now it's about 350 tonnes," Moche told Reuters after this talk.
In 1998, he said about 20,000 tonnes of fresh beef will enter the U.S.
Argentine beef was served at the convention's trade show, and booth staffers said the grass-fed beef currently is availably in ethnic food stores in major U.S. cities. The beef packages feature an easy-to-read "Argentine Beef" logo.
Argentina is the fifth largest beef producer in the world with a cattle herd of nearly 55 million head. Moche doubts Argentina's total fresh beef exports will increase greatly the next two years, but in three to five years may reach 200,000 tonnes annually.
In September, an attache for the U.S. Agriculture Department said the new beef export opportunities could have Argentina becoming one of the top three beef exporters by early next century.
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