May 27, 2009
Brazil's chicken exports to China fail to take off
Chinese officials have been moving slowly to grant licenses to allow poultry imports from Brazil, local financial newspaper Valor Economico reported Tuesday (May 26).
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed an agreement last week to immediately allow Brazilian poultry shipments into China, but so far no licenses have been granted, the newspaper reported.
"China has finally opened, but the market is complicated and has a lot of bureaucracy, so we must have patience," Valor quoted Francisco Turra, president of the Brazilian Chicken Producers and Exporters Association, or Abef, as saying. Abef was unavailable for further comment.
The agreement regarding chicken imports covers 24 Brazilian exporters in eight states, Valor reported. The agreement also includes food giants Perdigao and Sadia, who announced they would merge last Tuesday.
The Brazilian poultry sector expects that the deal should help support a 5 percent growth in chicken exports in 2009, Valor reported.
Brazil is the world's No.1 exporter of poultry.
