Buenos Aires, January 13 (NA) – Following a short negotiation, the mechanism for increasing Argentine beef exports to China, a market with enormous potential, has been defined. Argentine and Chinese officials agreed on the administration mechanism for the export quota set at 511,000 tons. It was decided that the Chinese government will be in charge of controlling the quota, without a prior distribution from Argentina. The Argentine Association of Exporting Producers reported that the Chinese authorities “decided that they will manage the Argentine quota, which means there will not be a distribution in Argentina, and everything will continue as it has been until now, that is, free export from Argentina to China”. A key detail is that upon reaching 511,000 tons, the extra tariff set by the Asian country will be triggered. Chinese Customs will apply a “current account” scheme where shipments entering from each supplying country will be recorded. Meanwhile, Argentina requested that the Chinese authorities publish the progress of the quota fulfillment monthly. This will be a way to provide greater predictability to exporters and avoid surprises in case of an eventual exceedance of the assigned volume. On December 31, 2025, China decided to apply safeguard measures on imported beef, establishing specific quotas by country and an additional 55% tariff. These provisions came into effect on January 2 of this year. For Argentina, a quota of 511,000 tons was established, which will continue to be subject to the 12.5% tariff currently in force. However, once this volume is exceeded, exports will be subject to the 55% surcharge. According to the provisions of the Chinese authorities, the quota will be updated with a 2% annual increase until 2029, the year in which the sanction expires. In the first 11 months of 2025, Argentina exported a total of 654,800 tons, and 458,360 tons were destined for the Asian country, making it – as has been the case for many years – the main market for our meats. A key data point is the improvement in prices paid by Chinese importers, which in the case of Argentina represented an increase of between US$ 200 and US$ 400 per ton.
