A Third of the Nation’s Goat Slaughtering Concentrated in the Province of Mendoza
The goat slaughtering registered during the period from January-September in the entire country, according to data from the National Office of Commercial Agriculture Control (ONCAA) was for 108,053 heads, a statistic that shows a 20.9% decrease with respect to the same period in 2007.
During that month (the last period for which official information is known) 7,042 animals were sacrificed, which indicates a decrease of 34.88%, in comparison to the numbers registered during September of 2007.
The official report (the most recent until now) clarifies that “this data is incomplete and provisional, and for that reason subject to modification.”
From that total for the first nine months of the year, 33% of the farm work was done in Mendoza, which placed just below the province of Córdoba, although the percentages correspond to the animals slaughtered for federal trade.
Not all the provinces have the same availability of refrigeration with authorization to operate in that category, which is why there are other regions with more numerous flocks, but with that have less animal slaughter
This is the case of Santiago del Estero, the highest producer of the species in the nation, or of the province of Neuquén, that occupies second place. Mendoza, third place as far as the number of live animals (although very close to the first two) it surpasses them in terms of slaughtering by a large margin.
Actually, as it occurs with other productions, there is no up to date information about the number of existing goat flocks in the whole country. According to data released by the National Agricultural Census of 2002-the last official information of a national scope-the total number of goats in the country was 4,061,402 (16.4% more than the National Agricultural Survey of 2000 registered) distributed over a total of 46,766 producers.
There’s no doubt that, in terms of goat slaughter, the volume has been falling practically without any extenuating circumstances throughout the year. In fact, in September the yearly variation (a 30% drop) was higher still than the drop suffered in the first nine months of this year with respect to the same period of last year (see chart).
Exportations
During the period from January-September of 2008 a total of 272 tons of goat products and byproducts were exported for a value of US$ 1,492,000.
52% of the volume of the goat product exports during that period was fresh meats, for a value of US$ 233,000.
The export of fibers is next in order of importance with a 45% of the total.
The exportation of fresh meat registered in those first nine months of 2008 was for 143 tons. This volume is 40.4% less in comparison to that of the same period of the previous year.
The principal destination of those exports was St. Martin with 43% of the total. Ivory Coast and Angola follow with 32% and 25%, respectively.
During September 24 tons of fresh meats were exported to St. Martin, with a value of US$ 52,000. That month, the previous year, sales to the exterior had not been registered.
In the period of nine months that was analyzed, 123 tons of fibers were exported, for a value of US$ 1,157,000, 37.6% less in volume and 35.7% less in currencies, in the a comparison with the previous year. On the basis of this data the value of those operations is estimated at US$9,406 per ton. During the month of September 29 tons were exported, for a value of US$ 274,000 (US$ 9,448 per ton). Those shipments were sent to the countries of South Africa, Turkey, China and Italy.
The exportations of goat skins and leathers during the period mentioned have been poor in terms of volume. Less than 0.25 tons were exported for a value of US$ 5,000 during the month of February of 2008, destined for Italy.
Source: Los Andes Newspaper
Permanent Link: http://losandes.com.ar/notas/2009/1/10/fincas-400045.asp
