Argentina-Beef exports will decline in 2009.

ARGENTINA-EXPORTS TO DECLINE.

Argentine beef exports for 2009 are revised lower at 420,000 tons primarily due to weak demand from its main buyers, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture attache report posted Friday on the Foreign Agricultural Services Web site.

This is despite the current quota being at 610,000 tons for the year, making matters very serious is the current position with Russia.

Argentina has come to depend on the Russian meat market for cow beef, six years ago there were more buyers from Russia arriving in Buenos Aires than you could poke a stick at, all with suitcases full of US dollars.

Today the cols stores in St Petersburg are full of frozen beef delivered last year and still not paid for.

The economic collapse of the Ukraine could see them quite easily going back into the old Soviet fold and forgetting any grand plans of going into the EU.

Should this be the case the beef from the Ukraine will all go east rather than west.