August 24, 2007

 

Brazil pork exports may gain on China's blue ear problem; US-China row

 

 

Brazilian pork exporters could be the beneficiary of two converging trends: the deadly blue ear disease that has wiped out hundreds of thousands of pigs in China, as well as an escalating quality-control war between China and US.

 

On September 17, a Chinese trade delegation is visiting Brazil to discuss meat imports, including the possible purchase of Brazilian pork, said Pedro de Camargo Neto, the president of Brazil's Pork Industry Association, or Abipecs.

 

"China has switched from being an exporter to an importer of pork, and so they're interested in discussing sales," said Camargo Neto.

 

On the other hand, discussions with China can be a lengthy affair, he added.

 

Brazil, the world's leading beef and chicken exporter, currently exports very little pork to China, all of it via Hong Kong.

 

The South American nation - which is expected to ship out roughly 600,000 tonnes of pork this year to the export market - is likely to see only a modest increase of 5 percent in sales if China agrees to buy the product in the near-term, or roughly 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes per year, said Camargo Neto.

 

Nevertheless, any deal sealed with the Chinese could lay the groundwork for increased future Brazilian pork exports to the world's most populous nation, he added.

 

In the past year, the highly contagious blue ear disease has killed thousands of pig herds in southern China.

 

In turn, retail prices for pork - China's most widely consumed meat - have jumped more than 50 percent during the 12 months to June, while wholesale prices have soared as much as 95 percent, according to a US Department of Agriculture attache report.

 

Chinese pork prices have been hit by other factors as well, including soaring grain prices as well as increased domestic consumption.

 

To stabilize the inflation, Beijing has decided to import a volume of around 100,000 tonnes of pork, said Camargo Neto.

 

The US currently sells about 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes of pork to China, which could allow Brazil to export a similar amount, he added.

 

Still, trade fissures have opened up between the US and China in recent months, due to a slew of US recalls of unsafe Chinese products, including toothpaste, toys and seafood.

 

In retaliation, China in August suspended pork shipments from eight US production plants because they contained the chemical ractopamine, a US approved feed additive for swine that isn't yet approved in China.

 

US and Chinese trade officials are slated to meet to talk about China's ban on US pork plants, among other issues.

 

Brazilian pork producers, for their part, say they are delighted to have the opportunity to sell to China, but note that they don't have their hopes raised.

 

"It's very difficult to evaluate how long these discussions might take," said Camargo Neto. "First, there will be the sanitary evaluation."
 

Video >

Follow Us

FacebookTwitterLinkedIn