Two Brazilian meat packing plants have been authorised to resume sales to China after receiving bans over Covid-19 concerns earlier this year, according to Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry.
“Chinese authorities concluded that the measures adopted by the ministry and the companies were satisfactory and in compliance with Chinese demands,” the agriculture ministry said in the statement.
It did not name either BRF or Marfrig, but the authorisations to resume exports from Dourados and Várzea Grande were published on the website of China’s General Administration of Customs, Reuters reports.
The announcement came as Brazil’s BRF issued a statement saying it had been allowed to resume exports to China from a chicken plant in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul state, a decision that will be acted on over the next few days.
Marfrig, another large meat purveyor that faced an import ban amid the pandemic, was cleared to resume beef sales to China from Várzea Grande, Mato Grosso state, the company said separately.
JBS still has a pork plant in the town of Três Passos and a chicken plant in Passo Fundo affected by China’s ban.
Currently, BRF has 15 units certified to sell meat to China, including 10 poultry and five pork facilities, the company said.
BRF’s Lajeado unit, in southern Rio Grande do Sul state, was also banned amid the pandemic and remains suspended by China, BRF said.
With several Brazilian meat plants suspended from selling to China due to Covid-19 concerns, Brazil’s meat exporters have proposed to test all meat shipments arriving in the Asian nation to prove cargoes are safe and avoid more bans.
Photo: Agriculture Ministry, Brasilia
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