June 21, 2004

 

 

Russia Temporarily Suspends Brazilian Beef Imports

 

Russia temporarily suspended beef imports from Brazil after the South American country confirmed an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in an Amazon state, Brazil's Agriculture Ministry said Friday.

 

"Russia has suspended inspections and stopped issuing sanitary certificates at Brazilian export ports until Brazil gives an official clarification about the foot-and-mouth outbreak," said Tito Mattos, a spokesman for Brazil's Agriculture Ministry.

 

He added that the Brazilian Embassy in Moscow on Friday had given Russian officials the requested clarifications, and Brazil expects Russia to lift the temporary ban Monday.

 

Russian officials in Brazil were not immediately available for comment.

 

Russia on Friday also suspended Brazilian pork exports, Brazil's Pork Producing and Exporting Association Abipecs said. Foot-and-mouth disease can spread from cows to pigs.

 

Russia is one of the biggest importers of Brazilian beef products.

 

On Thursday, Brazil's government confirmed three of 130 cows on a farm in the Amazon state of Para tested positive for foot-and-mouth disease.

 

The outbreak happened in a remote area in the north of Para state, which the ministry considers a risk region for the disease. The affected area is isolated by the Amazon River, and is hundreds of kilometers of rainforest from regions in southern Para state that are internationally recognized to be free of the disease, Mattos added.

 

With 1.3 million square kilometers, Para is Brazil's second-biggest state and covers an area more than twice the size of France.

 

The agriculture ministry said the outbreak would not hinder the country's efforts to eradicate the disease by 2005.

 

Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious viral disease and affects cloven-hoofed animals like cattle, sheep and pigs. It causes sores, blisters and fever. It is deadly for livestock but harmless to people.

 

Brazil has the world's largest beef herd with 182 million head of cattle and the ministry says the herd is 88% free of the disease. The country is the world's biggest exporter of meat, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Friday.

 

The last outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Brazil was 34 months ago in northeastern Maranhao state.