4 countries remove the embargo on Brazilian meat after China

Four more countries followed China’s example and resumed the import of Brazilian beef, informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday (March 23).

Itamaraty did not report which countries.

It only informed, in a note, that six nations continue to block the product: Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Iran, Russia, and Thailand.

After a month of the embargo because of one case of atypical “mad cow disease” (non-transmissible) in Pará, China, the leading buyer of Brazilian beef announced the reopening of imports.

The Minister of Agriculture and Cattle Raising, Carlos Fávaro, announced the announcement after meeting with the Minister of the General Administration of Chinese Customs, Yu Jianhua, on Thursday (March 23).

Fávaro arrived in China before President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), who will land in the Asian country on Monday (March 26).

He will spend a week on an official trip with a delegation of ministers, congress members, and business people.

“The Ministry of External Relations, through its network of embassies, has been acting since the announcement of the BSE [bovine spongiform encephalopathy] case to avoid undue market closures.”

“Through active monitoring, the MFA detected risks of closure in 15 countries,” the note said.

“In 4 cases, it was possible to avoid the closure of the market, and in 5 others, including China, the markets were momentarily closed but already reopened. Efforts continue with a view to reopening the six remaining markets – Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Iran, Russia, and Thailand,” the statement added.

Itamaraty also informed that the Brazilian government “received with satisfaction” the news of China’s reopening to Brazilian beef.

According to the text, the end of the blockade resulted from “intense diplomatic negotiations” followed by the visit of Minister Carlos Fávaro to the Asian country.

He participated in meetings with Chinese authorities, seminars, and meetings with the productive sector before the arrival of President Lula.

NO COMMUNICABLE CASES

This was the second time in a year and a half that Brazil stopped exporting beef to China.

From September to December 2021, the Asian country, Brazil’s biggest meat buyer, suspended purchases after identifying two atypical cases in Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso.

Brazil has not registered any classic cases of mad cow disease caused by ingesting contaminated meat and pieces of bone.

Caused by a prion, a protein molecule without a genetic code, mad cow disease is a degenerative disease called bovine spongiform encephalitis.

The modified proteins consume the animal’s brain, making it comparable to a sponge.

In addition to oxen and cows, the disease affects buffalo, sheep, and goats.

The ingestion of meat and by-products from contaminated animals causes transmissible spongiform encephalopathy in humans.

In the late 1990s, there was an outbreak of mad cow disease in humans in Great Britain, which led to the suspension of beef consumption in the country for several months.

At the time, the disease was transmitted to humans through cattle fed with contaminated animal feed.

With information from Agência Brasil