Cookies and biscuits make up a set of various types of flour byproducts. Their consumption is a traditional practice in Argentina and they are included in the basic food shopping basket (only packed crackers and packed plain cookies).

• The cookie and biscuit industry in Argentina is mostly concentrated in Buenos Aires province. Manufacturers are strategically located close to the major urban centers so as to reduce distribution costs.
• In the last six years, the sector has become consolidated and has succeeded in overcoming the adverse scenario of 2002. Production volumes in 2007 were the largest ever since 1980.
• Consumption indicators for 2007 are encouraging, as they show a dynamic sector with good future prospects.

PRODUCTION

• The y-o-y growth rate in cookie and biscuit production has been 15.8% for the last 6 years. Similarly to 2006, in 2007 the largest production volumes were recorded in the second quarter. In the period 2002-2005, there was significant variability in this respect; in the years prior to the 2002 devaluation, however, the seasonal production pattern was similar to that of the last two years of the period under review.

• In 2007, the manufacture of cookies and biscuits amounted to 363,234 tons, i.e., a 14.7% increase vis-à-vis 2006.

• The cookie and biscuit apparent consumption trend was positive in the period 2007-2002 (a 116.8% rise). This coincides with the recovery in the domestic production of these items and relates to the consumption increase in the domestic market.
• As from 2003, the per capita cookie and biscuit consumption has shown a steady uptrend. From 2002 to 2007, this indicator rose by 106.6%.

• The per capita cookie and biscuit consumption in 2007 totaled 8.4 kg/inhabitant, an increase of 13.9% as against 2006, and a record high since the 1990s. In this scenario, the industrial sector has been forced to devise sales diversification strategies to prevent the domestic market from becoming glutted.

• In the marketing jargon, this is known as “enlarging the pie” in order to reach a win-win situation as against a lose-lose situation, which is created when markets attain oversupply levels.
• The growing share of imported cookies and biscuits in Argentine consumption was sustained until 2006, which might be accounted for by the recovery in purchasing power that commenced in 2004. In 2007, however, only 0.52% of cookies and biscuits consumed in Argentina were imported, representing a decline of 1.18%, which relates to the shift toward Argentine products.

• In 2005 and 2006, the y-o-y cookie and biscuit exports increased by 17.1% and 11%, respectively, to drop by 4.1% last year.
• It should be noted that, despite this decline, there was a 12.8% y-o-y rise in the value of cookies and biscuits exported in 2007.
• In 2003, Argentina exported 28,642 tons of cookies and biscuits for USD 24,811,191 FOB. In a five-year period, exports increased 21.6% by volume and 48.8% by value, thus reaching a volume of 34,824 tons exported for USD 36,928,860 FOB in 2007.

• The decline in the volume of cookie and biscuit exports in 2007 is attributed to a strategic shift by companies in this sector toward prioritizing the domestic market in view of its avid demand for those products in the previous year.
• On the other hand, the ton average value of exported cookies and biscuits increased by 22.4% in the five-year period under review. Last year, the average value was USD 1,060.4 FOB per exported ton, while in 2003 it amounted to USD 866.3 FOB.
• From 2003 to 2007, the three major export destinations increased their joint share in total export volume from 54.3% to 61.5%. Additionally, the major export destinations have changed.
• In 2003, Brazil was the major destination for Argentine cookies and biscuits, but starting in 2004, Angola ranked first followed by Chile and Paraguay. In 2006 and 2007, Chile ranked second and Paraguay third, so Brazil no longer appeared among the top three destinations for Argentine cookie and biscuit exports.

• Between 2004 and 2006, imports saw an exponential growth (both by volume and value). In 2007, the imported volume experienced a y-o-y drop of 64.5%, while their value went up by 25.7%.
• The cookie and biscuit import boom in 2005 and 2006 related to an improvement in the purchasing power of the Argentinean population.
• The exchange rate of the Brazilian currency at the time, from where these products mostly originated, does not account for their penetration in the domestic market. However, the phenomenon may likely have been due to the establishment of a new company following a merger of a major cookie manufacturer and a multinational food manufacturer, which in those years was the main supplier and which currently has production plants in Chile, Brazil, and Argentina.

• In March 2008, the Flour Foods Chain, reporting to the National Food Administration, conducted an online survey in order to gather input about certain features of the cookie and biscuit manufacturing sector in Argentina.
• The approach consisted in logging key words as search parameters. As a result, information was obtained on the companies identified as cookie and biscuit manufacturers (a total of 59 companies).
• This survey rendered the following conclusions regarding the sector’s profile:
• 69.5% of the companies surveyed have their own website, where they present their products, provide a review of the company, and offer contact information, among other data. From all of surveyed firms, 41 have and use this tool, whereas the 18 others even hasen’t it.
• 58.1% of cookie and biscuit production plants are located in Buenos Aires province and the Greater Buenos Aires area (21% and 37.1% respectively); Santa Fe, 16%; the city of Buenos Aires, 14.5%; Córdoba, 4.8% and other provinces 6.5%.
• Also, it is noted that most manufacturers are concentrated in Buenos Aires city.
• Three companies own more than one plant, and one company works with several manufacturers to order. This mean that 93.2% has only one plant.
• 44.4% of companies boast a track record of over 41 years in the industry. 25% has been working among 26 and 40 years, 22.2% among 11 and 25 years and 8.3% less of 10 tears.
• Most manufacturers produce both sweet and savory biscuits (44.1%) or are exclusively devoted to making sweet varieties (33.9%). 5.1 of them only produce salad cookies.