News

Brazil allowed to export fresh beef to the U.S.

Programs ICON

A Brazilian meat packer has been cleared to begin shipping fresh beef to the United States from two of its facilities.

University of Missouri livestock analyst Scott Brown says that could mean a slight drag on US beef prices, “I certainly don’t want to overstate the impact of that, because I don’t think we’re going to talk about a substantial increase in the quantity of beef that comes into the United States.”

But, he tells Brownfield right now every pound matters, “When we talk about beef production that’s been up nearly 4%, year to date, and so additional supplies of beef are not exactly what we want on the market, yet we may get to deal with them.”

The USDA has determined Brazil’s food safety system for beef meets US standards.  Brown says it would be difficult to deny access to the US market – especially as the US is working to access additional markets around the globe, “We certainly have to step up to the plate and as long as these other countries meet our requirements, it’s pretty hard for us to say, ‘Well, we don’t want to allow you to import product’, when we want to turn around in markets and say ‘Make sure that you’re providing us the correct access.’”

Earlier this year Brazil and the US finalized food safety equivalence documents.  Individual meat processing plants will need to receive authorization from both Brazilian and US regulators once they clear sanitary inspections before they will be allowed to ship to the United States.

Add Comment

Your email address will not be published.


 

Stay Up to Date

Subscribe for our newsletter today and receive relevant news straight to your inbox!