China lifts restriction on beef imports from Brazil

Brazil has been given the authorisation to export beef to China, according to a statement from the Brazilian ambassador to China.

In 2005, China decided to restrict the purchase of beef products from Brazil after outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul and now, according to the embassy, has sent a document that identifies the areas of Brazil it considers to be free from the disease, based on the criteria of the International Animal Health Organisation.

The states are Acre, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Rondônia, São Paulo, Santa Catarina, Sergipe, Tocantins and the Federal District of Brasilia.

In the case of Pará state, the recognition applies only to the south of the state, and in the cases of Mato Grosso do Sul, Rondônia and Bahia the recognition does not include areas that are considered to be observation and isolation areas.

In order to re-launch exports to China, interested companies will have to be approved individually by the China National Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA), after presenting technical information and documents.

The documentation should be sent to the Brazilian Ministry for Agriculture which, after analysing it, will send the information to the CNCA. If the documents are deemed satisfactory, the establishment may be approved immediately or may then be the target of an inspection by the Chinese health authorities.

The figures posted by Mato Grosso - a state that was already authorised to export to China - show that the average amount of beef exported to China each month was 1,460 tonnes in 2009, and in December that exceeded 2,000 tonnes.

According to figures from the Mato Grosso Institute for Agricultural economics, from 2003 to 2008 the average amount of beef exported from Mato Grosso to China each month was 478 tonnes.