February 13, 2006

Brazil still upbeat about exports, despite embargo.

Beef exports in Brazil for the period between October and December 2005 were lower by US$150 million over the same period in 2004, largely due to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in two states, Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture said.

The ministry said the biggest damage came from lower export growth, which fell from 30 percent in 2004 to 5 percent last year. 56 countries have banned Brazilian meat.

However, Odilson Ribeiro, director of the Ministry's Department of Sanitary Affairs, sees a silver lining as countries such as Argentina and Uruguay have already started buying Brazilian meat again. The impact of the outbreak could be minimised as large export packing plants have connections that allow them to shift exports, he said.

Ribeiro said that there were even reason for Brazil to rejoice as it still exports meat to numerous countries. He said that if no new cases occur in Brazil for the next two months, the country would be able to declare itself free of the disease. Most countries will then resume their purchases of Brazilian meat within six months, Ribeiro estimated.

Despite the embargo, Brazil still remains the world's top exporter of beef.

Brazil exported US$3 billion worth of beef last year, with volume at 2.3 million tonnes, an 18 percent increase over 2004. Russia and Egypt are the biggest markets for Brazilian meat. Analysts predict a 15 percent increase in export growth this year.