Extension of bone-in beef access to Patagonia delayed by 60 days

The controversial measure to allow bone-in beef from areas free of foot-and-mouth disease with vaccination into Patagonia—an area free of the disease without vaccination—has been postponed for at least two more months. Just a week before the initial 90-day suspension of SENASA Resolution 186/2025 was set to expire, the government decided to push back the implementation date again. According to La Nación, the delay aims to allow time for official responses from countries like Chile and EU members regarding whether the regulatory change might have commercial or sanitary consequences.

Resolution 180/2025, issued in March, set new sanitary conditions for allowing the entry of beef (with or without bone), meat products, and genetic material into Patagonia from northern regions of Argentina. While both regions are free of foot-and-mouth disease, the north does so with vaccination. The resolution was suspended until June 16 due to various criticisms—now extended further.

While sanitary risk is the core of most objections, commercial concerns also loom large. Given its special status and captive domestic market, Patagonian producers fetch significantly higher prices than their counterparts north of the sanitary barrier—albeit with higher production costs. Should the opening proceed, they would not only face competition from within Argentina but also potentially from lower-cost imports such as Brazilian beef.