Visec-eligible steers sold for between 7,900 and 8,070 pesos per kilo carcass weight, up to 200 pesos more than non-eligible cattle, at the ninth export auction in Cañuelas, which brought together 1,500 head.
The ninth export auction of the Mercado Agroganadero de Cañuelas (MAG), held this Wednesday, evidenced the consolidation of a new price category in the cattle business: cattle registered on the Visec Carne platform quoted above those that are not registered. Some 1,500 head were sold during the session, distributed across 25 lots, of which 80% was registered with Visec Carne.
The “Visec-eligible” steer, eligible to serve European demand that requires compliance with the anti-deforestation regulation, sold for between 7,900 and 8,070 pesos per kilo carcass weight. Non-eligible cattle were placed at between 7,850 and 7,950 pesos, with differences of up to 200 pesos per kilo carcass weight.
Categories destined for the European market and the Hilton Quota traded at an overall average of 7,756 pesos per kilo carcass weight. The differentiation responds to the packing plants' requirement to comply with European Union regulation 2023/1115, whose entry into force is scheduled for the end of the year and which requires that the meat come from fields that have not been deforested since December 2020.
The gap had already been anticipated by Mario Ravettino, of the Consorcio de Exportadores ABC, during the recent Sial in Paris: “When the value of the steer enabled for the European Union has a recognition higher than the one that does not, that is when everyone's desperation to sign up will set in.”
A few days later, the Gorina packing plant warned that a new price category was coming, which finally showed up in this auction. Livestock broker Fernando Sáenz Valiente acknowledged significant variations: “The gap is 150/200 pesos in auctions like this one, where there are several bidders asking for cattle; when the sale is direct it is much wider, and on top of that it is very hard to place the goods.”
According to livestock brokers, the gap in direct sales reaches 500/600 pesos per kilo carcass weight. The economic pressure began weeks ago, when lots without Visec began to be paid up to 10% less at the packing plant gate, which in price per kilo represents between 700 and 800 pesos; at the MAG the difference narrowed to around 200 or 250 pesos.
Livestock broker Oscar Subarroca said: “I would have liked Senasa to be the one running this platform,” but he considered that “it is necessary to put an end to the discussion in order to give the European Union all the information it asks for and to be able to export with peace of mind.” And he added: “Many packing plants, the exporters, told us they will not keep buying if you are not registered with Visec Carne, because what is slaughtered now enters Europe at the beginning of next year,” when the anti-deforestation regulation would apply.
According to this operator and others consulted, this certification is also beginning to be required for feeder cattle. In that market there are still no clear price references, although calf quotations fell notably more than the losses being sustained by feeders and the drop in consumption.
Visec Carne is beginning to draw a dividing line at this link in the chain as well, where cattle leaving breeding farms is required to be registered on the platform in order to have the necessary traceability and avoid problems at the time of fattening and slaughter.
The auction is part of a dynamic that the MAG has driven this year with an eye on high international prices and the growth in purchases by export packing plants. Around 40% of slaughter today is destined for export, in a link that historically negotiated directly with producers. More than 13,000 head were traded through this channel during the year.
“If it can, the packing plant will buy everything off-market, because there it has more power over prices. The sector tends increasingly to concentrate, and what the market does is establish reference values and provide transparency,” said a Cañuelas reference figure. “It is an opportunity both for export and for customers. We livestock brokers are very important in this chain,” said Alfonso Monasterio, of the firm Monasterio Tattersall.
Nicolás Franchini, general coordinator of the MAG, highlighted: “The MAG TV Exportación auction is already part of the agenda of producers, livestock brokers and packing plants. We work so that each session brings more predictability, transparency and reference prices for the cattle that goes to international markets.” For his part, Carlos José Colombo, president of the MAG, added: “This channel has consolidated as a reference for the export cattle business. We thank the producers, the livestock auction houses and the meatpacking industry that accompany it month after month. The goal is to keep growing and add more and more supply.”
The tenth and final auction of the year will be held in December, and the schedule will resume in March. Heading toward surpassing 15,000 head in 2026, the sector trusts that the momentum will come hand in hand with the European market, environmental requirements and the search for a price reference in a link where it is hard to find one.
