Cattle Slaughter in Beef Exporter Uruguay to Hit 17-Year Low
- Executive sees slaughter at 1.9 million head this year
- Meatpacker overcapacity worsens on cattle shortfall, exports
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Cattle slaughter in Uruguay, a key producer that’s become known for its traceable grass-fed, hormone-free beef, could fall to the lowest in 17 years amid a shrinking herd and a drop in exports.
That’s according to Eduardo Urgal, director at Ontilcor SA, the country’s No. 6 meatpacking plant by slaughter. Meat plants are suffering a shortfall of cattle as government data shows that ranchers shipped more than 500,000 animals to Middle Eastern abattoirs in recent years, he said. The herd has also shrunk after years of steady slaughter rates to meet China’s insatiable demand for beef.