Brazil asks Russia to lift slaughterhouse restrictions

According to a note released by the Special Secretariat of Social Communication, the President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro, asked the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, that more Brazilian slaughterhouses be approved for meat exports to Russia. Although qualified, many plants are under temporary restrictions to sell to the Russians. The conversation between the two heads of state on April 6 also dealt with the manufacture of the Sputnik vaccine against Covid-19. The Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina, was not present.

In a note, ABPA (the Brazilian association of animal protein) said that it is optimistic about the advance in negotiations between the two presidents. “Recently, Russian authorities have signaled the possibility of reducing tariffs for chicken meat imports from Brazil. So we hope to get both meat export approval and expand the volume chicken and pork meat imported by the largest market of Eastern Europe, reinforcing the trade partnership between the two nations”.

Data from the Ministry of Agriculture indicate that Brazil sold 143,800 tons of meat to Russia in 2020, generated US$ 311.4 million in sales. The main product exported is chicken meat, with 83,600 tons sold at US$108.7 million, 30% more than in 2019. Beef is in second place, with 58,800 tons sold for US$ 199.7 million.

Despite having five plants approved to export to Russia, Brazil barely sold pork in 2020. There were only 100 tons sold, far below, for example, the 918 tons of horse meat sold in the same period. The low flow of the product is due to investments from Russia for the production of domestic pigs.

30 slaughterhouses have permission to export chickens, and 11 have permission to sell beef. Many other slaughterhouses appear on the list of approved plants, but with restrictions, mainly from 2017.

For the export of chicken meat, 54 units are listed on the Russian government’s website. Of these, 23 have restrictions, and one has had its certification suspended. For beef, 58 slaughterhouses are licensed to export to Russia, but 47 have temporary restrictions. For pork, in addition to the five qualified, 27 other plants are restricted.

Source: Valor Econômico

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