Argentine beef exports to the United States saw one of their most significant increases in recent years in May. In a single month, Argentine meatpacking plants sold the same volume in that market as they had managed to sell there during the first eight months of 2015.
In detail, trade between Argentine and the United States totaled USD 1.383 billion in May, with a positive balance of USD 373 million for the country, according to a report prepared by the Commercial Intelligence Management of PromArgentina based on official statistics.
Exports totaled USD 878 million, 76% higher than in the same month of the previous year. Within this total, beef was a key driver of growth: sales to the US market reached USD 86 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 369%.
In terms of volume, Argentine meatpacking plants exported approximately 11,100 tons of beef to the United States in May. This figure is similar to the total amount exported to that destination between January and August 2025.
Quotas covered and projection towards September
The positive results achieved by the export sector will not only allow the country to meet its traditional annual export quota of 20,000 tons of beef to the United States, but also to cover the quota of an additional 80,000 tons enabled by the trade agreement that both countries signed last February.
In fact, between January and May of this year, Argentina has already sold some 42,000 tons of meat to the US market, a figure that more than doubles the original quota of 20,000 tons authorized until the end of 2025.
PromArgentina noted that these are historic figures for a January-May period.
Given these results, Diego Sucalesca, Executive President of PromArgentina, anticipated the continuation of the positioning strategy: “This trade milestone validates the macroeconomic course of openness to the world promoted by the national government. The dynamism that Argentine foreign trade exhibits today is a true engine of productive development and sustainable foreign exchange earnings.”
Business meetings with importers
For the national government, the export surge was directly preceded by the Argentine Meat Week in the United States, a trade mission organized by PromArgentina that took place between April 27 and May 1 in the cities of Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles.
It was the first time the organization coordinated three simultaneous business matchmaking events abroad, with the goal of connecting Argentine exporting companies with strategic buyers. According to the organization, the initiative generated more than 200 business contacts.
The Argentine delegation was comprised of representatives from fifteen companies in the sector. The mission also included the participation of the Argentine ambassador to the United States, Alejandro Oxenford, and the Undersecretary of Agri-food Markets and International Integration, Agustín Tejeda.
The impact on weekly averages
Beyond the specific results for May, data from PromArgentina shows a change in the pace of shipments. The average weekly export of Argentine beef to the United States was 370 tons in 2015. In May, the weekly average rose to 400 tons, 10% higher than the previous year.
Sucalesca highlighted the magnitude of the change. “Having exported in a single month—this past May—the same 11,000 tons of meat that it took us to market in the first eight months of 2025 in the US market is no coincidence: it is the direct impact of a federal promotion strategy focused on opening new markets and positioning the added value and quality of our production in markets with high global demand,” he commented.
Looking ahead to the coming months, the state export promotion agency is organizing the second edition of Argentine Meat Week in the United States, which will take place next September.
