China, Thailand, Iran and Jordan suspend beef imports from Brazil after mad cow case in Pará

China, Thailand, Iran and Jordan suspend beef imports from Brazil after mad cow case in Pará | Policy

Posted On: March 3, 2023

The Ministry of Agriculture informed in a note this Thursday (2) that China, Thailand, Iran and Jordan have suspended imports of beef from all over Brazil, and Russia has introduced an embargo on beef exported from Pará.

“China, Thailand, Iran and Jordan have temporarily suspended imports of beef from across Brazil and Russia has introduced an embargo on beef exported from Pará for exports to Russia,” the folder wrote in its statement.

atypical case

The Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, told GloboNews that testing conducted at the World Organization for Animal Health reference laboratory in Alberta, Canada, proves that the case is atypical.

For the laboratory, the disease is a result of the natural aging of the animal. In practice, this means the report confirms the folder’s expectation that there is no risk of flock contamination.

The animal detected with mad cows is a 9 year old bull, raised on pasture. The animal is slaughtered, burned and the property isolated.

After confirming the report to GloboNewsThe Ministry of Agriculture issued a note indicating that sample results were immediately communicated to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and that the portfolio began the process of formal communication to the World Organization for Animal Health.

The ministry will also send the Canadian lab report to the Chinese government and request a virtual meeting to discuss lifting the embargo.

Fávaro stated that he is working to resume trading “as soon as possible” and that the federal government intends to activate a new refrigeration plant after Lula’s trip to China, in late March.

In 20 years of monitoring the disease, the country has never identified the most traditional form, which is when the animal is contaminated because of its food, explains Vanessa Felipe de Souza Veterinarian, Virologist, Researcher at Embrapa Gado de Corte.

What has happened:

A case of mad cow was confirmed by the Pará State Agricultural Defense Agency (Adepará) in a 9 year old animal at a small property in Marabá (PA).
The animal is slaughtered, burned and the property isolated. The government reported that the health protocol was taken after confirmation.
The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) was notified of the case and samples for typing examination were sent to the agency’s reference laboratory in Canada.
The institute’s report showed that Pará’s case was unusual, said the Minister of Agriculture.
Brazil has health status with insignificant disease risk, since 2013, in OIE.

Another atypical case

Last year, revenue from beef exports increased by 42% compared to 2021according to the Brazilian Refrigerator Association (Abrafrigo) based on data from the Secretariat of Foreign Trade (Secex).

Brazil suspends beef exports to China with confirmed cases of mad cows