en.Wedoany.com Reported - Argentina's meat processing industry continued the trend of declining cattle supply, higher slaughter weights, and improved carcass yield in May 2026. According to Argentina's Clarín newspaper, the supply of cattle available for slaughter continued to decline, while slaughter weights and carcass yield rates increased.

According to the latest report from the Argentine Beef Exporters Consortium (ABC), slaughter volume in May 2026 reached 1.001 million head, down 11.3% (127,600 head) compared to May 2025. Cumulatively from January to May 2026, Argentine cold storage facilities slaughtered 4.94 million cattle, a 9.8% decrease from the 5.48 million head slaughtered in the same period of 2025.

The Clarín report explained that after years of heavy culling of cows and heifers, a tighter supply of fattened cattle is becoming entrenched.

The share of cows in total slaughter remains relatively high but is trending downward. In May 2026, cows accounted for 46.9% of total slaughter, down from 47.5% in the same month of 2025. In the first five months of 2026, the cow share stood at 47.5%, slightly above the 47% recorded in the same period last year.

Argentina's beef production (in carcass weight equivalent) in May 2026 reached 239,800 metric tons, up 5.9% from April but down 8.5% from the same month last year. In the first five months of this year, carcass weight equivalent production totaled 1.167 million metric tons, a 7.3% decrease from the 1.26 million metric tons in the same period of 2025.

The ABC report showed an improvement in slaughter yield. The average carcass weight in May 2026 reached 239.6 kg, higher than the 235.2 kg in April and the 232.2 kg in May 2025. According to Clarín, the cumulative average carcass weight for this year stands at 236.2 kg, a 2.7% increase over the average for the same period last year, approaching the historical record set in September 2022.

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