May 30, 2011

 

Brazilian companies allowed to ship pork to China

 

 

The following Brazilian meatpackers, BRF Brasil Foods, Marfrig, and Aurora, will be permitted to use their plants in centre-western and southern Brazil to ship pork to China, according to the Brazilian Agriculture Ministry.

 

These are the first Brazilian firms to get the go-ahead from Chinese authorities.

 

The move comes a month after China announced that it would open its market to Brazil's pork, during Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's visit to that Asian country.

 

Also in the wake of Rousseff's visit, the Chinese agreed to buy chicken from another 25 Brazilian producers, doubling the number of local plants certified to export to China to 50. Another five Brazilian beef producers were also certified.

 

In 2010, Brazilian meat exports to China totalled BRL225.6 million (US$141 million), of which BRL219.6 million (US$137.3 million) came from chicken.

 

China has also been the main buyer of Brazilian farm goods since 2008, with imports jumping to BRL11 billion (US$6.9 billion) last year from BRL3.5 billion (US$2.2 billion) in 2007.