0
Dairy consumption in the first half of 2024 fell by 17.3% in tonnes and 14.4% in equivalent litres compared to the same period in 2023.
Between January and June, consumption per inhabitant/year fell to 156.3 liters (it was 194 liters at the end of 2023), falling below the 180 liters recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Meat consumption fell in the first quarter and is the lowest in the last three decades
“2024 will surely end with the lowest consumption ever recorded in our history,” says a report from the Institute for Argentine Agroindustrial Development (IDAA).
“In 1990 we consumed 162 liters/inhab/year, in 2000 we reached a peak of 227 liters/inhab/year, after the crisis we fell to 179 liters/inhab/year in 2003 and we recovered to close 2015 with 217 liters/inhab/year. At the end of 2019 we had fallen again with 182 liters/inhab/year and the year 2023 closes with an increase that reached 194 liters/inhab/year,” the report states.
According to the Dairy Chain Observatory (OCLA), the products with the highest added and unit value were those that showed the greatest falls, led by dairy desserts and flans (-53%), chocolate or flavored milk (-45.4%), whole or semi-skimmed milk powder (-38.0%) and very soft cheeses (-26.3%).
As for liquid milk, “people consumed less and of the cheapest kind, and in June the drop in consumption even of the cheapest kind worsened. At the other end of the spectrum, skimmed milk powder, aimed at a segment with greater purchasing power, suffered the smallest drop,” said the IDDA.
Production and export with mixed results
As for production, it fell 12.6% year-on-year in the first half of the year, being the lowest in absolute values of the last 17 years while per capita it is “the lowest on record in our history,” according to the IDDA.
As for exports, they had a year-on-year increase of 6% in tonnes and almost 8% in equivalent litres during June, but in foreign currency this increase was only 0.1%.
Exports in the first half of the year had a cumulative increase of 6.7% in tonnes and 13% in equivalent litres compared to the same period in 2023, despite a 12.6% drop in milk production in the same period.
Meanwhile, foreign currency earnings from foreign sales fell by 2.4% in the first half of the year, despite increases in export volumes. Export volume represented 28.5% of production.