In May, 541,707 animals arrived at the Argentine feedlots for fattening and finishing according to data from Senasa (National Animal Health Service), some 100 thousand more animals than in the month of April, which represents an increase of 20 percent.
As of June 1, the stock in feedlots was located at 1,962 million animalss, 12 percent above the 1,750 million reported by Senasa a month ago, a number very close to the maximums recorded in June and June 2023 when the existence of 2 million heads in the pens was exceeded.
“This important increase in the current confinement of animals allows us to glimpse a good level of supply of finished animals which should start to come out, on average, starting in the next two to three months“, anticipated the Livestock Market of the Rosario Stock Exchange (ROSGAN).
Although the highest livestock income occurs between the months of March to June, the time of the seasonal peak of the calf harvest, in 2023, due to the drought and the consequent lack of grass, many producers were forced to advance the departure of farms in the fields, therefore, the maximum was reached in March with 582 thousand animals admitted.
On the other hand, this year income was a little later than usual. “Until last month they were certainly stable at around 430 to 450 thousand head per month while, recently The first significant increase was recorded in May of the campaign,” they indicated from ROSGAN.
It is that the rhythm of exit of calves from the breeding fields showed a slight flattening in 2024. Thus, the peak of entry to the feedlots had been reached in March with 582 thousand animals but then, during April, a transfer of animals from the pastures was recorded that was lower than the average of the last 5 years -excluding 2023- and then grow significantly in May and reach a total of 1.53 million calves and heifers destined for breeding and wintering. This figure, in relation to the stock (as of December 31, 2023) of 14.7 million calves and heifers, means a 10.4% exit rate for Mayone of the highest for this month in recent years.
“Favored by a greater supply of calves, replacement values continued to improve during May, not only due to the stagnation registered in the price of calves but, in turn, due to the slight nominal improvement that the price of the light fat steer has been registering in the last two months, even in a scenario of great weakness consumption and delayed real prices so far this year for both categories,” ROSGAN explained.
Another factor that plays in favor of the feedlot with a strong financial component within the buying and selling equation, after a fattening process that involves an average of 120 to 150 days, is the sharp drop in interest rates ordered by the Central Bank, which in the last month fell from 60 to 40 percent annually.
