China agrees to resume imports of Brazilian beef, authorises four new plants

Sales of Brazilian beef to China were voluntarily halted by Brazilian authorities on February 23 following the discovery of an atypical case of mad cow disease

The resumption of beef trade comes a day after Brazil’s agriculture minister arrived in Beijing ahead of a visit by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday

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A customer checks the beef section of a supermarket in Curitiba, Brazil. China on Thursday agreed to resume imports of Brazilian beef aged under 30 months. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:19am, 24 Mar 2023Updated: 3:35am, 24 Mar 2023

China has agreed to immediately resume imports of Brazilian beef aged under 30 months, according to a statement released by China’s General Administration of Customs on Thursday.

Sales of Brazilian beef to China were voluntarily halted by Brazilian authorities on February 23, following the discovery of an atypical case of mad cow disease.

The resumption of trade comes a day after Brazilian Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro arrived in Beijing ahead of a visit by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (right) with agriculture and livestock minister Carlos Favaro. Photo: AFP

Datagro Pecuaria, an agribusiness consultancy, separately said an additional four Brazilian slaughterhouses were authorised on Thursday by Beijing to export beef into China.

Citing the GACC, the consultancy said three belong to privately owned companies and one is operated by listed JBS SA.

This is the first time since 2019 that China has issued new export permits for Brazilian beef packers, Datagro Pecuaria said on its website.

The Brazilian agriculture ministry did not have an immediate comment.

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