Overview
- Beef prices in the Buenos Aires metro rose 10.6% in March, the IPCVA reported, and city inflation quickened to 3% as IDECBA said meats and derivatives climbed 6.3%.
- The increase hit harder in neighborhood butcher shops than in supermarket chains, with prices up 12.2% versus 7.1%, and cuts like asado priced up to 16.8% lower in big stores.
- Consumers are buying more poultry and pork as beef gets pricier, with fresh chicken up 10.9% and pork cuts up 6.3%, and one kilo of asado now equal to about 3.86 kilos of chicken by price.
- Local budgets are straining as costs rise, with Sauce de Luna in Entre Ríos replacing a 30,000‑peso cash bonus with a 50,000‑peso food voucher after 94% of residents skipped local taxes and court orders froze accounts.
- After March’s jump, some butchers in La Plata report early April prices have steadied or even dipped on select cuts.