BEIJING/SÃO PAULO (Reuters) – China’s customs officials said on Tuesday they will accept import orders for Brazilian beef that has received a health certificate before Sept. 4, potentially allowing shipments held at Chinese ports to finally be released At customs.
Brazil suspended processes for beef exports to China on Sept. 4 after detecting two unusual cases of mad cow disease, but the product that was already in ports continued to be exported, with most failing to clear customs on arrival the China.
Consulting firm Agrifatto estimates that the volume stopped at Chinese ports is around 100,000 tonnes, practically the total exported to the Chinese in September, when Brazilian shipments reached a record of around 212,000 tonnes.
A Reuters report in mid-September had pointed out the risks of shipping the product after the embargo, even though the sector counted on the release of certified meat before the suspension, which ended up taking a long time to happen.
Bovine arroba prices reacted positively this Tuesday, with the January contract on the B3 reaching 330 reais, on a day also marked by information that more Brazilian slaughterhouses may export to Russia. In the physical market, the variation in the month is more than 20%, according to the Boi Gordo Cepea/B3 indicator.
In the assessment of the director of Agrifatto, Lygia Pimentel, caution is needed with China, however.
“As China has not reversed the suspension and only what was certified was released until September 4th, there is a suspicion that they have rebuilt stocks of meat and are able to turn the year around perhaps”, she said, when answering a question about the prospects for the fall of the embargo.
For the minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina, the release of certified meat before the embargo represents a first step towards the resumption of regular exports to China.
“There is no cause for concern either for our consumers or for external consumers. This release relieves our exporters, who had many of these containers at sea or in ports, which will then be released to enter China,” said the minister.
“Now, we have a next step to release the suspension of Brazilian meat going forward. We are in progress in this process and I hope that this will happen within the next month”, she stressed.
She said that Brazil has already forwarded all the documents requested by the Chinese authorities, who are analyzing the information sent.
The cases of mad cow disease that generated the embargo were considered “atypical” because they were of a spontaneous type rather than by transmission in the herd.
According to the International Organization for Animal Health (OIE), “atypical” cases do not pose a risk to human and animal health, and are generally detected in older cattle.
Chinese customs officials updated their website on Tuesday to say they are now accepting certified beef import orders before the suspension.
It was unclear how long these procedures would take, or the amount of product stuck in limbo since the suspension.
Brazil is China’s main beef supplier, supplying around 40% of its imports, and buyers initially expected trade to resume in a few weeks.
Since the cases in cattle were announced, Brazil has also reported two cases of neurodegenerative disorder in people, although authorities said they were not related to beef consumption.
(Reporting by Dominique Patton in Beijing and Roberto Samora in São Paulo)
See too
+ Horoscope: check today’s forecast for your sign
+ Video: Driver leaves Tesla car on autopilot and sleeps on SP highway
+ Food stamps: understand what changes with new rules for benefit
+ See which were the most stolen cars in SP in 2021
+ Expedition identifies giant squid responsible for ship wreck in 2011
+ Everything you need to know before buying a crockpot
+ Discovered in Armenia most eastern aqueduct of the Roman Empire
+ US Agency warns: never wash raw chicken meat
+ Passenger attacks and pulls out two stewardess teeth
+ Aloe gel in the drink: see the benefits
+ Lemon-squeezing trick becomes a craze on social media
+ Lake Superior: the best freshwater wave in the world?
#Mad #Cow #China #accept #certified #beef #Brazil