The Brazilian government and private enterprise decided to put together joint missions to visit some of the major countries that suspended purchases of Brazilian meat, due to the outbreak of hoof and mouth disease in Mato Grosso do Sul.
According to the secretary of Agricultural Protection in the Ministry of Agriculture, Gabriel Alves Maciel, an agenda for the first visits will be organized this week at another meeting between representatives of the entrepreneurs and the government.
They met for the first time last week in Brasília to discuss strategies for the lifting of the embargoes that have been imposed. So far 43 countries have suspended Brazilian meat imports.
Maciel pointed out that the definition of which countries will be visited will weigh the importance of the amount that is imported and the degree of severity of the embargo, since some countries also placed embargoes on other types of meat, including pork.
Some embargoes extend to the entire Brazilian territory. "We discussed strategies and made a very broad assessment of the market we lost and how to regain it," he said.
The executive director of the Brazilian Meat Exporters’ Association (Abiec), Antônio Camardelli, said that partnership with the government is ideal in these instances, because the questions are answered concurrently, facilitating negotiations.
"It makes a difference, because, with all the intervening bodies present at the table, the private sector together with the government, which has decision-making power, there are no slipups. If there is a question about sanitary conditions, for example, the government replies and gives its guarantee right then and there," he considered.
Mato Grosso do Sul has five confirmed focuses of hoof and mouth disease. Altogether, more than 5 thousand animals will be sacrificed on the ranches that have been affected. So far slightly over a thousand head of cattle have been put down.
Agência Brasil