Canada opens its market to Paraguayan beef, and Peña celebrates official authorization for export

Paraguay has achieved the opening of the Canadian market for exporting its meat products. Nine meatpacking plants are officially authorized to send Paraguayan beef.

President Santiago Peña celebrated through his social media, stating, “Paraguay reaches Canada with the best meat in the world! We are pleased to announce that after a demanding market opening process and extensive work to achieve an agreement for sanitary certification, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has granted authorization to import beef from Paraguay. Congratulations to all institutions and sectors for this important achievement,” he said.

Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Carlos Giménez also applauded this new opportunity in the foreign market. In addition to celebrating this «government victory,» he congratulated and thanked the technicians, authorized meatpacking plants, and producers for maintaining the sanitary status.

“This is another victory for the Government in a work that we must congratulate the technicians of the official sanitary service of the Republic of Paraguay (Senacsa), headed by its president José Carlos Martin, to the meat industry and producers who make it possible to have a sanitary status that gives us this opportunity to conquer more markets,” said the minister during the press conference.

The chart below shows the top destinations of Paraguay beef export shipments from January to March 2024, according to data from DataLiner.

Paraguay Top Beef Export Destinations | Jan 2024 – Mar 2024 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Almost three and a half years of intense negotiations

The president of the National Service of Quality and Animal Health (Senacsa), José Carlos Martin, explained that after almost three and a half years of intense negotiation and intense work, the opening of Paraguayan beef for the Canadian market was officially announced on Tuesday, May 13.

“Yesterday, we received the last notifications and the last drafts, and this morning, at 8:30, we received the confirmatory email indicating that Paraguayan exports started today, as well as the lists of the authorized plants. And a process that was tough ends, where the service had a significant risk and also learning,” detailed the official.

Martin emphasized that one of the main objectives of the Santiago Peña government is the opening of more markets and the diversification of Paraguay’s livestock exports with other products, as “for the pork sector, we will soon also have from the poultry sector.”

He said that Canada ranks among the top 10 meat importers, and the volume of its importation is very similar to the US market, understanding that it is around 40 million people. The United States is the second-largest meat importer, and the target set for this year was 10,000 tons.

This year, we could export 3,000 to 4,000 tons of meat, but our goal will always be according to our learning curve and growth.

Martin said that now that Paraguay has opened the Canadian market, the volume of exports will depend heavily on the private sector and its appeal to the Canadian market because it must enter to compete.

He explained that 95% of Paraguayan beef exports are boneless because the country’s sanitary conditions allow it.

He emphasized that one of the producers’ requests was the highest possible number of new markets, which they announced after the meeting with producers and meat industry representatives.

The establishments authorized for export are Neuland, Frigomerc S.A.; San Antonio Meatpacking Plant, Guaraní SACI, Frigochorti, Frigochaco, Norte S.A.; Belén, and Concepción.

Senacsa indicated that they were authorized after a demanding evaluation process for market opening and extensive work to achieve an agreement regarding sanitary requirements and homologation of the Sanitary Certificate by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which granted authorization for the importation of beef from Paraguay.

Source: Agencia de Información Paraguaya

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