Meatpackers resort to neighboring countries to meet Chinese demand

Two of the three meatpackers listed on the Brazilian Stock Exchange announced, on Feb 23rd, that they are redirecting Chinese beef orders to their plants in Argentina and Uruguay. The measure is part of an effort to mitigate the damage caused by the self-suspension of Brazilian exports in the sales of these companies and throughout the chain.

Due to the possible atypical “mad cow” case, the Ministry of Agriculture voluntarily suspended protein shipments yesterday, as the agreement with China established. So now it’s up to Beijing to give the green light for resuming sales – and there is no deadline for that. In 2019, it took 13 days. In 2021, it was more than 100 days.

Minerva, South America’s largest beef exporter, announced that it would meet the Chinese demand by using three plants in Uruguay and one in Argentina. With this, the company, which had a record revenue of BRL 31 billion in 2022, hopes to maintain its market share in China. Marfrig will export to China from its six facilities in both countries. JBS declined to comment.

On the 23rd, the Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, received the Chinese ambassador to discuss the situation. The reference laboratory of the World Organization for Animal Health (Omas) in Canada should release the test results by the end of next week. The expectation in the market is that China should reopen its doors in March.

Source: Valor Econômico

To read the original news report, access: https://valor.globo.com/agronegocios/noticia/2023/02/24/frigorificos-recorrem-a-vizinhos-para-atender-a-china.ghtml

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