Argentine meat at Sial Paris: quality + sustainability
Sial Paris 2022 closed its doors at the Paris Nord Villepinte exhibition center in the French capital with great encouragement from Argentine meat exporters who, despite economic complications, were able to do business and meet face to face, after several years, with its European buyers.
For the participation in this event of international relevance, the Institute for the Promotion of Argentine Beef (IPCVA) developed a gigantic "Argentine Beef Pavilion" in Hall 6 of the exhibition, on an area of 1,000 square meters -the largest in the history of the Institute- with individual spaces for companies and an imposing restaurant in which the wide and narrow steaks of the best Argentine meat were showcased.
Sial Paris 2022 was not a conventional fair: it was the first major international exhibition without health restrictions and this situation led to a large turnout of visitors from almost every corner of the world. However, this general enthusiasm was also overshadowed by the dark clouds hanging over the European economy (inflation, energy crisis, devalued Euro, etc.), the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the large drop in the Chinese market, the main destination in volume for Argentine beef.
For these reasons, many exporters compensated for the business with shipments to destinations not so common for Argentine meat, such as Azerbaijan, Cyprus or the Philippines.
From the point of view of communication, it was demonstrated in Paris that beyond the historical recognition that Argentine beef has for its superior quality, it is necessary to emphasize the attribute of sustainability, a quality that is increasingly valued by consumers.
The sustainability of Argentine meat is a concept intrinsically linked to the commitment of the production chain to the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. Our production is characterized by being mostly extensive in meadows and natural pastures that allows us to capture the gases generated by animals, giving a positive balance.
For Juan José Grigera Naón, President of the IPCVA, “participating in the SIAL allows us to present to the external market an exclusive product that is sustainable meat with Argentine quality, because a high percentage of the country's livestock is produced on pasture, in pastoral systems or silvopastoral, which capture the carbon they generate” , he added.
Shortly after closing the new and long-awaited edition of Sial Paris 2022, the first without restrictions after the pandemic, the meat industry was very satisfied with the participation in the event, beyond the economic problems that afflict the international market.
"We needed to come and meet with customers again ," said Hugo Borrel from Frigorífico ArreBeef. "We needed to see the changes in the way of working with so many changes worldwide, with devaluations, wars, post-pandemic, inflation, which are unknown macro aspects that affect our business," he added. "We get a lot of information, not all of it good, but it serves to project the future."
On the other hand, the businessman said that they took advantage of Sial Paris to spread the innovations of the company. “As ArreBeef we are changing our work culture: we are moving to a more sustainable system, with the first biogas plant in the world that generates biogas from organic waste from the production of the refrigerator, which is a global innovation.”
For his part, Carlos Riusech (Frigorífico Gorina), assured that “we are very satisfied to participate in this new edition of Sial in Paris. I think it was very satisfactory and it was the first opportunity to meet again with all our clients”.
“From the point of view of markets, the situation is complicated. The world is going through a moment, as is known, of inflation, high interest rates, paralysis of growth. However, we are very optimistic about the opportunities presented by beef, our industry, in order to continue growing and developing” , he added.
On the other hand, facing the challenges that lie ahead, the businessman said that in his company they are “making two very important investments: one is an effluent treatment plant in which we are also going to generate electricity through a biodigester; we are going to generate 1.5 megabytes and at the same time we are developing a new area, a 12,000 square meter freezing and logistics center, fully automated, with the latest technology, for which we are very optimistic about the future of our business, regardless of the current situation”.
Mariano Grimaldi (Frigorífico Logros), commented for his part that “we are very happy to participate in Sial and to return to international fairs. With very good expectations for the present and for what is to come for Argentine meat in the world” .
Meanwhile, Antonio D'Angelo (Frigorífico Recreo), said that Sial 2022 was very transcendent “because here suppliers are related to customers. Although it is not the most appropriate time to do business due to the fall in prices worldwide, we can say that in every other sense the fair is turning out to be very good, very successful, because we are meeting new clients and we are also relating very well with our Argentine peers”.
"The expectations we have had have been met at the fair, not only with European clients, but also from other destinations to which we export quite satisfactory results ," said Juan Manuel Beltrán (Frigorífico Forres Beltrán).
Finally, Mariano Martínez (Frigorífico Las Heras), concluded that "we have very positive impressions, but there is also concern about the Chinese market. We are all hoping to sustain our sales, in addition to adding new customers. I think that being positive today is sustaining yourself in a world that is in upheaval."
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