Union to better know consumers' preferences to design specific promotion campaigns. However, with the export restrictions for beef set by the Argentine government, these measures may be of little use. Therefore, the IPCVA also focuses on promotion work in Argentina: The IPCVA is developing the first beef consumption map in Argentina. Through complete research of the domestic market, an "X-Ray" of the beef consumption in the whole country will be set up and used for marketing and promotion purposes "Las Leonas' Secret"—Las Leonas, the Argentine women's field hockey team, has a contract with the IPCVA to eat Argentine beef. This prestigious sport is seen as key to promoting the meat, especially because prestige is one of the key factors of the Argentine beef image. Funding of the IPCVA These huge promotions are expensive. Therefore, the IPCVA arranged to get the following contributions for its budget: 1.25 Argentine pesos from producers per killed animal 0.55 Argentine pesos from packers per packed animal This adds up to 1.80 Argentine pesos per slaughtered animal. At a killing rate of 13 million animals per year, it totals 23,400,000 Argentine pesos. This is a budget of around €6,325,000 per year (March 28, 2006). Goals of the IPCVA The long-term goals of the IPCVA are described as follows on their website: Identify and create demand for Argentine beef products in domestic and foreign markets. Design and develop marketing strategies to improve Argentine beef products' competitiveness overseas. Plan and develop promotion strategies to contribute to the improvement of domestic consumption levels. Work to consolidate Argentine beef quality and security, contributing to the efficiency of productive and industrial processes." The IPCVA has become a major instrument to improve the international competitiveness of Argentine beef. Statistics Statistics for Argentine beef production and exports: Argentina annually produces about two 240-gram steaks per person worldwide and has six steaks more standing on its pastures. Domestic market and export The high consumption per capita shows that beef is profoundly integrated into traditional Argentine cuisine. However, as can be seen, beef exports are not an essential part of the Argentine economy. This is in large part because Argentina consumes most of its beef and the industry has been prevented from orienting itself to an export industry. Secondary reasons include the restrictive rules and regulations on beef of importing countries. For instance, Argentina agreed with the United States on an annual restriction of 20,000