America : Uruguay : INAC (Instituto Nacional de Carnes)

The National Meat Institute (INAC) is a non-governmental public body created by Decree-Law No. 15,605, dated July 27th, 1984. Its object is to suggest and advice the Executive Power on the National Meat Policy, as well as to execute said policy, established by the Executive Power.

In compliance with such duties, INAC has the purpose of promoting, ruling, coordinating and monitoring activities concerning production, transformation, trade, storing and transport of meats, including beef, sheep meat, horse meat, pig meat, goat meat, poultry, rabbit meat and small game, their offal, by-products and meat products.

INAC is managed and administered by a Board of six members, composed of two representatives of the Executive Power —one of them appointed as the President on suggestion of the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, and the other one appointed as Vice-President, on suggestion of the Ministry of Industry, Energy, and Mining—, and four representatives of the private sector: two farmers’ representatives —one on behalf of Asociación Rural del Uruguay, and the other acting on behalf of Federación Rural—, and two representatives of the industrial sectors.

The current INAC —whose first acknowledged antecedent is the organization created under the same name 40 years ago by Decree No. 601/967, dated September 8th, 1967— is structured on the basis of the previous INAC and the Comisión Administradora de Abasto (CADA – Domestic Market Management Commission), organizations which until the passing of Decree-Law No. 15,605 ruled aspects regarding exports and the domestic market, respectively.

In the understanding that domestic market sales and exports are two sides of the same economic activity, the merge of the abovementioned institutions in the current INAC aimed to achieve greater consistency of the meat policy, based on the same criteria and on coordination in the development of both sides.

As of 1967, two important institutions came to exist in the meat sector: INAC (National Meat Institute), and another institution named CADA (Comisión Administradora de Abasto – Domestic Market Management Commission), which operated until 1984, both of them complementing each other’s tasks, duties, objects and efforts. INAC mainly focused on exports, and CADA mainly focused on the domestic market.

INAC was created with the passing of Decree-Law 15,605 on July 27th, 1984, it coming to comprise both institutions, thus making two sides of a single activity to coincide: the domestic market and the exports.

The creation of INAC put an end to a process that had begun halfway through the past century with the efforts carried out by several preceding organizations specialized in meats, fundamental product in the diet of Uruguay's inhabitants, and a traditional exports item.

On September 8th, 1967 an Institution was created under the name of INAC also, of which the National Meat Institute is the heir, the current universal successor of the duties and powers of the non-governmental public body created by decree No.601/967.
In 1973 INAC was granted legal personality, and in that same year, it merged with the Technical Unit Profrigos, part of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which was the Executing Unit of IDB loans for exporting plants. The Meat Industry Technical Commission, created in 1972 as an accounting auditor of processing plants, was also incorporated to INAC.

“In 1984, the creation Law stated in its section 1: that INAC is a non-governmental public body”, the historian María Emilia Santancier explained at INAC's anniversary celebration.

For the researcher, the Institute came to meet the need for a meat policy, both of the population in general and exporters and farmers; a mainly technical organization with political meddling, given by the governmental party in power.

What is to be noted in these 41 years is the dynamic character of the Institution, which allowed it to adapt itself to changes in the meat chain and changes in global circumstances.

President of INAC, Dr. Alfredo Fratti.

When I took office at INAC, I found and Institution with an extraordinary technical level, with extremely valuable information, and which few people knew about, even within the governmental sphere. The country has made little use of this Institution that is 40 years old, and which has reached a unique level of specialization as regards quality controls, promotion, monitoring of trade and transport of meats, particularly of beef, and sheep meat.
Halfway through my office, I understood I had to make some comments on the initiatives I have put in practice.
The good economic results of the first half of 2005 made it possible to meet the need for professionalization of INAC’s services, according to new requirements.

The Institution's wealth was increased by the purchase of new offices adjoining to the main building, and thus there was no need to rent the old building at Treinta y Tres street anymore.

The main building was refreshed for it to have the level these kinds of Institutions have in the leading meat exporting countries around the world.

Among other actions, special support and boost was given to the Electronic Information System for the Beef Industry (Black Boxes), the creation of the Standard Steer (Virtual Steer), aggressive presence in some markets, refreshment of staff with young multidisciplinary technicians, the creation of a Human Resources Department and of an Information Technology Directorate; both of them indispensable to face times to come.

All of these achieved aims have given support to the goals established at the beginning of this administration, particularly to the intention of diversifying markets and occupying high-value niches, to the transparency in cattle trade, and to the provision of guarantees for our foreign customers.

Another goal was to take care of the domestic market, as regards both price and quality of products.

In short, time elapsed allowed me to achieve some goals I had set myself thanks to the invaluable support of INAC's staff, and of INAC's Board members who, with the same views or not, have allowed for the necessary agreements to be reached  in order to work together in favor of the country.

INAC 41 years later

The creation of INAC introduced a fundamental change in the meat sector.
The Institution has been successfully operating ever since its creation thanks to the joint efforts and work of all the links in the meat chain, thus strengthening a sector that has always been essential for Uruguay.

Mission: INAC’s mission is to develop joint actions that promote activities and formulate policies which add value to the meat chain, and contribute to its socio-economic development.

Vision: INAC’s vision is to position the Uruguayan meat chain as a supplier of quality products, renowned for controls applied to its processes, and for its adaptability to fit consumers' demands.

According to Law 15,605, INAC's role is to suggest and advice the Executive Power on the National Meat Policy, as well as to execute said policy, established by the Executive Power. Coordination with the latter is done through the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP). Section 1.
This means the Institute has a wide scope of action given that it must monitor performance for several species —beef, sheep, pigs, and poultry— and through various links of the meat chain, basically concerning processing, and trading both in the domestic market and abroad.

*Taken from Analysis of the current situation of non governmental public bodies linked to the MGAP. August 2007.

Institutionality
INAC and the decentralization.

The decentralization promoted by the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries officially began activities in 2007, after the passing of Law 18,126 – Law of Decentralization and Coordination of Agricultural Policies on a Departmental Basis.

This law created three bodies: the National Agricultural Council, Departmental Agricultural Councils, and Rural Development Committees.

The Agricultural Council, chaired by the Minister of Livestock, is also composed of the Director of the Office of Planning and Budget; three members of the Mayors Congress; the chairmen of INAC, Instituto Plan Agropecuario (Farming and Agricultural Planning Institute), Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria – INIA (National Agricultural Research Institute), Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura –INAVI (National Wine Institute), INASE Instituto Nacional de Semillas (National Seeds Institute); and a representative of Instituto Nacional de Colonización -INC (National Colonization Institute).

In the framework of the decentralization policy, INAC appointed two technicians, who take part in Departmental Agricultural Councils at Flores and Cerro Largo, Veterinarians Andrés Lapetina and Mariana Lizasuain, who strengthen the decentralization policy established by the government.

Uruguay, cattle-raising country

Uruguay is one of the main meat producers in the world.
Uruguayan livestock are free-range, raised in natural conditions with a mild climate, fertile land, and plenty of water from the country's several rivers and stream, thus their welfare being ensured.

Almost 100,000 people share the environment with livestock.
Apart from farmers and meat processors, this economic activity employs many people.

Uruguay ranks second worldwide in beef consumption per capita, with 53 kg per person per year.

It produces about 600 thousand tons of beef a year, 150 thousand tons are consumed in the domestic market, and 450 thousand tons are exported.
These products are exported to over 100 countries and account for 25% of Uruguayan exports.

In order to achieve these goals, our country has designed the best livestock information systems in the world: Traceability + Electronic Information System of the Beef Industry.

Investing in technology has a specific object: to know more about natural cycles, and learn more and more how to follow them; to this end, information society tools being taken advantage of.

These achievements, added to the health status attained by Uruguay, and to the quality of its products, have boosted Uruguayan meats in the most demanding markets.

Information systems.

INAC was created with a view to provide precise and up-to-date information about industrial and trading activities of the national meat chain. At that time, in the late sixties, several institutional initiatives aimed at knowing Uruguay better as a country, in order to achieve a harmonic development that combines its agricultural vocation with the necessary industrialization of products.

Times were difficult at first; results were modest when there were no computers and working with data demanded strong efforts, both on the part of companies and of the part of INAC.

Throughout the years, the task has improved little by little thanks to the efforts of the authorities, who understood its importance, and to technicians who have devoted efforts and skills to the ongoing improvement of data.
*taken from the prolog by Luis Alfredo Fratti, President of INAC in the book “INAC – 30 years of information”. 1977 - 2006.

Average value of the standard steer index.

Amongst its essential duties, INAC must promote coordination mechanisms among the links of the meat chain to find business alternatives that add value to products. It is with this purpose that INAC publishes the average value generated after the industrial process by a standard Uruguayan steer – British breeds and its cross breeds.

SEIIC. Electronic Information System for the Beef Industry.

Uruguay is the first country in the world to implement an electronic information system at slaughter plants, managed by the advising body on meat policy integrated by the Executive Power, and representatives of farmer and processor unions.

Through digital scales, computers and other devices, data gathered at plants are registered and transmitted to INAC.

Certifications and quality.

Accessing the most demanding markets requires a lot of work in safety measures. Therefore, meat certification allows us to ensure that products obtained throughout a series of stages are under control.

Besides from animal health and meat safety, certification also allows plants to meet specific commercial requirements from customers.

From the beginning, certifications have been issued for final products. Therefore, since 30 years ago, Uruguay has been guaranteeing a minimum level of commercial quality for all of its meat exports through the Official Certification of Quality Control.

Product certification requirements were becoming more and more demanding as to the industrialization process itself, therefore, besides from final products, the final stages of said process—slaughter conditions, refrigeration, deboning— were also included in certifications.

Finally, in recent years, requirements from markets and from final consumers have begun to aim firstly at the farm production level, then at livestock shipment and transport, and also at the industrial stage, up to the final product.

Thus, implementing a traceability system, both for cattle and for beef, becomes an indispensable tool to grant these kinds of certifications.
INAC, on compliance of its duties, issues a series of certifications including:
Mandatory certifications such as the Official Certification of Quality Control (COCC) or the Hilton quota certification that Uruguay offers as product quality assurance for markets.

Optional certifications, these being understood as certifications required by specific markets, which the Institute issues for exporters on their demand; it is the case of beef certification required by the Chilean government to ensure the fulfillment of requirements established by Chilean standards.

Voluntary certifications, these are the ones that INAC, in ongoing search for better opportunities to place Uruguayan meats in markets around the world, issues as a differentiation tool.

These certifications are issued under Meat Certification Programs (MCP).
Uruguayan consumers.

Given the variety of products in the domestic market under the name of “ground beef”, INAC, in compliance of its product standardization duty, decided to regulate the composition and preparation of ground beef.

By decree 215/006 dated July 2006, the composition, preparation, and handling of ground beef were regulated, together with the physical chemical and microbiological standards it has to meet in order to be sold to consumers, with a view to homogenize  the product and defend consumers.

Likewise, a photographic pattern was prepared with ground beef containing different fat percentages, in order to be placed at butcher shops as a guideline for consumers.

On the other hand, considering there was no solid-based method for the calculation of meat consumption in the domestic market, and therefore, for the calculation of per capita consumption, INAC developed a clear and accessible methodology to calculate meat consumption per capita.
It is important to monitor the operation of the domestic market for two reasons: first, it is an indispensable destination for the economic equation of processing plants, and second, meat is one of the essential products in the Uruguayan consumption basket, so INAC has to promote mechanisms for consumers to have better access to said product in order to contribute to the population's welfare.

According to INAC’s estimates, meat consumption in Uruguay is of about 53 kg per person a year (bone-in), one of the highest numbers in the world, it only being beaten by Argentina’s.

This makes the monitoring of the domestic market consumption to become fundamental with a view to help establishing a public policy that ensures access to animal protein for the greatest number of people.

Winning choice

In the last decade exports have been the dynamizer of the meat chain. Among the most important destinations of recent years there are Nafta’s markets, particularly the USA.

Achieving stable and profitable trading channels is a long term task that has to be continuously supported by INAC, and INAC’s role is very important.
As regards promotion, INAC aims at creating an image for Uruguayan products as natural, safe, and high-quality products.

The Institution uses positive messages, linked to connecting oneself to what matters – the nature, a healthy lifestyle, and a great taste to share, such as that of the Uruguayan meats.

It is in this framework that INAC participates in the most important food exhibitions around the world, organizes different kinds of events which include meat tasting, negotiating tables, presentations to customers, etc.

Special projects:

Uruguay Natural. A tour through the senses. Its object is the joint promotion of meats, wines and tourism in Uruguay as natural and safe products. INAC, INAVI (National Wine Institute) and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports have joined efforts to work on this project.

Advantages of joint promotions are: lowering marketing costs, adding positive synergies and multiplying communication - chef contests in Punta del Este, International Golf Exhibitions, etc.

Uruguay Natural Club.

Its object is to promote Uruguayan natural meats abroad, in the market segment demanding high-quality products.

The means used to achieve said goal is the implementation of different restaurant models.

The project’s strategy aims at encouraging people who appreciate high-value proposals to –live an experience-, thus they being attracted -by the natural attribute - to discover Uruguay little by little, as well as its values, culture and traditions.

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