Argentina flying in Israeli rabbis to certify kosher meat despite travel ban

Move indicates Israel’s importance as an export market for Argentinian beef industry

By Marcy Oster 26 May 2020, 6:57 am

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Illustrative image of a man preparing meat at a kosher slaughterhouse (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

JTA — Argentina will charter a private plane to bring several Israeli rabbis to certify kosher meat in the country.

Argentina has banned commercial flights to stem the spread of the coronavirus, but the allowance for the rabbis indicates the importance of the Israeli export market for the country’s beef, Reuters reported.

Argentina is the world’s fifth largest beef exporter and Israel is its third-largest buyer, at a cost of over $100 million annually, according to Mario Ravettino, head of Argentina’s ABC meat export consortium.

In normal times, up to 15 Israeli rabbis travel to Argentina twice a year and stay for a few months since there aren’t enough local rabbis with expertise in kosher slaughter to handle the volume.

Argentina is currently allowing only citizens to enter the country.