Canada re-authorizes imports of beef from Brazilian areas without FMD vaccination

Canada has re-authorized beef imports from Brazilian states that were previously approved before they halted foot-and-mouth disease vaccinations, which led to a suspension of exports.

Following an update to their sanitary certificates, the states of Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Acre, and Rondônia, as well as 14 cities in Amazonas and five in Mato Grosso, will now be able to resume beef exports to the North American country.

Previously, the bilateral protocol required beef to come from areas where animals had been vaccinated within the previous 12 months. This requirement halted exports from states that had already discontinued vaccinations during the negotiations between Brazil and Canada but had not yet received recognition from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Acre, Rondônia, and the municipalities in Amazonas and Mato Grosso, which are part of the first phase of Brazil’s plan to stop foot-and-mouth disease vaccinations, stopped inoculating in 2020 and were recognized in 2021. As 12 months passed since the last vaccination in these areas, their exports to Canada were prohibited. Only Santa Catarina, which had been internationally recognized as a foot-and-mouth disease-free zone without vaccination for years, was able to continue exporting throughout the entire period.

Expectations for the resumption of exports have been building since February of this year when the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) completed a risk assessment for the importation of boneless, aged beef from these regions and informed the Brazilian government. On Monday, September 9, Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture received confirmation from the Canadian agency, approving the updated sanitary certificate with new export requirements. Exports can now resume immediately.

The expansion of the area approved to export beef to Canada was announced by Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, during an event in Cuiabá. “We have expanded the reopening of the beef market to Canada,” he said.

In 2023, Canada imported 8,100 tonnes of Brazilian beef, generating $39 million in revenue.

Source: Globo Rural

Original news text: https://globorural.globo.com/pecuaria/noticia/2024/09/canada-retoma-importacao-de-carne-bovina-de-estados-brasileiros-sem-vacinacao-de-aftosa.ghtml

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