Brazil is working to reduce the risk of ‘mad cow’ disease, following an almost 100 day Chinese ban that only ended in mid-december, according to Agriculture minister Tereza Cristina.
“We are now discussing with the slaughterhouses some measures for us to reduce the risk of having animals with this (‘mad cow’) symptom, these older animals”, the minister (pictured above) told the Brazilian press.
“Our concern is not only with the market abroad, but also with the domestic market, with the Brazilian consumer, who has to have quality and tranquility in the foods that are inspected by the Ministry of Agriculture”, Cristina added.
The minister highlighted factors that mitigated the impact of the Chinese ban, despite China being one of the biggest buyers of beef in Brazil. “In the beginning, in the first weeks, the rural producer had a drop in the price (of meat) but there was a reaction. Russia opened more to exports from Brazil. (…) We managed that containers of meat, which had been barred at first, produced until September 4, were also cleared for China”
“For Brazilian agriculture it is a problem, but I want to say that the best part of all this is that the Brazilian health service, our agricultural defense confirms its quality, its services and the safety that passes to the world of excellence that we have in inspection of our agricultural products”, Cristina pointed out.
“Our ‘mad cow’ disease (…) affects older animals. We export mainly animals with a maximum of 30 months to China. We never had cases in Brazil of classic BSE [mad cow], which is what England, several countries in Europe, the United States, Canada have had”, the minister added.
Chinese Chancellor Says Brazilian Beef Import Ban To Be ‘Resolved Quickly’
According to the Brazilian authorities, the OIE, the international organization that monitors animal health, analyzed the information provided as a result of the two cases of atypical BSE and reaffirmed the Brazilian status of ‘insignificant risk’ for the disease.
According to the Brazilian Association of Refrigerators (Abrafrigo), the Chinese embargo led Brazilian beef exports to a drop of 43% in October, compared to September, which worsened to 47% in November.
Dollar income also fell considerably in recent months, 41% in November, but despite the impact, in the January-December comparison between with 2021, financial results improved almost USD 1 billion.
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