October 23, 2009

Brazil will soon be allowed to export lotfed beef to the EU under the High Quality Beef (HQB-Hilton) quota, after requesting European Commission changes to current regulations, said the Brazilian Beef Exporters Association (ABIEC).

The changes come as a result of recent ABIEC meetings with EU authorities in Brussels.

The current regulations allow Brazil to export only selected chilled boneless beef cuts from steers or heifers, which have been exclusively fed with pasture grass since weaning.

The changes will allow shipments from the growing Brazilian feedlot industry, and will encourage local producers to obtain EU certification, by ensuring a higher price mark-up over non-EU eligible animals.

Demand for EU certified cattle should also increase, with Brazil's Hilton quota increasing from 5,000 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes in May this year, as compensation for Romania and Bulgaria's EU accession in 2007.

In addition, Brazilian exporters are negotiating the management of the approved farms list to shift to the local Ministry of Agriculture. This would accelerate the auditing and certification process, which is considered to be slow.

ABIEC forecasts that if rules are modified, another 6,500 to 7,500 farms may be certified within one year, over the current 1,500 approved farms.

Beef exports to the EU for the period January to September 2009 reached 29,927 tonnes swt, with chilled exports accounting for 39 percent of the total. Although total volumes were up nine percent year-on-year, shipments were still 80-percent below the 152,284 tonnes swt shipped in 2007.