After the confirmation of a case of disease in an animal in Pará, the objective of the Map is to confirm that the event is isolated and to resume trade before the president’s trip to the Asian country on March 28
BRASILIA – O Brazilian government seeks to speed up health protocols to regulate the export of beef to the China. The goal is to regularize trade relations before President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva undertake a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, scheduled for March 28.
This Wednesday, the 22nd, the The Ministry of Agriculture (Mapa) and the Federal Laboratory for the Defense of Agriculture (LFDA) have confirmed the presence of an isolated case of “mad cow” disease in an animal on a small property in Marabá (PA).. The Brazilian government immediately tried to suspend meat exports to the Asian giant, as established by the health protocols adopted by Brazil and China.
Second map minister, Charles Favaroconfirmed case of “bovine spongiform encephalopathy” (BSE), the scientific name for mad cow disease, was recorded in a single nine-year-old animal, which was slaughtered, following protocols. The animal was part of a herd of 60 animals, according to the minister, which are isolated on the small property.
From the tests already carried out, the bull had brain degeneration, as he is an older animal, and developed the disease. According to Mapa, there was no contamination of any kind, also because the animals were raised on pasture, without the use of animal feed. Therefore, the event was treated as an atypical case, ie isolated, and not of the “classic” type, which involves, for example, the contamination of a farm.
Animal samples and information were sent to the World Organization for Animal Health (OMAS) laboratory located in Alberta, Canada. The government’s expectation is that, in about five days, there will be a rebuttal to the case. From there, commercial relations could be regularized in the coming weeks.
“We believe that everything will return to normal before President Lula goes to China,” said Carlos Fávaro. “We are awaiting the outcome of the test to confirm the atypical case, but, with transparency and certainty, I emphasize: there is no reason for consumers to worry about the meat they eat at home. We are taking all measures in the ministry for recovery fastest from the market.”
The shipment of the material to Canada is due to the fact that Brazil has not yet completed setting up a local laboratory to carry out this work. The expectation is that a base in Pernambuco will be operational by December of this year.
The government has stated that there is no risk of consuming national meat, either in Brazil or in other countries, and that the decision regarding China was protocol, as it contains this kind of strict rules and transparency. A protocol signed by the countries in 2015 provides for the immediate communication to China of the identification of the disease and the voluntary suspension of exports by Brazil.
China is the largest buyer of Brazilian meat, accounting for 57% of exports of the national product in January, with transactions worth $485 million. The second largest consumer is the United States, with 9.4 percent of exports and transactions worth $79 million in January, according to official Brazilian trade balance data.
Source: Terra
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