South Africa opens doors to Brazilian meat
It has also received confirmation of the Brazilian establishment’s approved to supply pork to South Africa, following the recent reopening of this market.
The government has put these successes down to the joint efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
South Africa had banned the import of these products since 2005, after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, and later the discovery of an atypical case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Brazil.
According to MAPA, the decision to reopen these markets is important for the interest of Brazilian meat exporters, and confirms the effectiveness of national health controls and the quality of Brazilian products.
The Ministry said it hoped Brazil would export in the region of US$7m of pork a year, and US$12m worth of beef.
“The opening of this market is considered an important opportunity to diversify the use of products in question – especially for pork, a sector in which Brazilian exports are concentrated in a few markets. In addition, access to the South African market may lead to the opening of markets in other African countries, for example, the members of the South African Customs Union (SACU),” said MAPA.
Iraq has also suspended its ban on frozen and canned beef from Brazil, due to cases of aytpical BSE in cattle in 2012. The meat must come from animals meeting the feed requirements of the World Organization for Animal Health, and be from cattle aged 30-months or less.
