Philadelphia Welcomes First Import of Argentine Beef into US in Over 17 Years

Plaque Presentation with Argentine Ambassador Held to Mark Occasion

Philadelphia, March 4, 2019 —

On Friday, March 1, representatives from Holt Logistics and PhilaPort joined with officials from the Embassy of Argentina in the US to welcome the first shipment of Argentine beef into the United States in over 17 years. Officials gathered at the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia for a dockside plaque presentation to mark the occasion.

L to R: Pablo Rodriguez, Minister, Head of the Economic & Commercial Office, Embassy of Argentina; Jeff Theobald, Executive Director & CEO, PhilaPort; Leo Holt, President, Holt Logistics; The Honorable Fernando Oris de Roa, Argentine Ambassador to the US; Ken Zuroick, Director, Sales & Marketing, Orleans International; Jeff Parker, VP of Customer Service, Hamburg Sud; & Sean Mahoney, Director of Marketing, PhilaPort.

The shipment included several tons of Argentine lean beef, primarily used for higher end cuts and hamburgers. The beef will arrive on the Hamburg Sud M/V Rio Barrow, which will arrive at The Port of Philadelphia from Buenos Aires, Argentina. The shipment marks the first time since 2001 that Argentine beef has been allowed for import into the US.

Philadelphia is largest port for imported beef in the United States by volume. PhilaPort and Holt Logistics have supported the efforts of the Argentine Agricultural Ministry in getting the necessary approvals from the US Department of Agriculture to begin import of bovine meat products. In total, Argentina expects to export about 20,000 tons of beef products into the US every year.  This equates to approximately 160,000,000 quarter-pound hamburger patties, or 80,000,000 eight-ounce steaks.