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NCBA says Brazil appears to be manipulating the world beef market

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says Brazil is manipulating the market by failing to report atypical BSE cases.

Todd Wilkinson,  NCBA’s Vice President and a cattle feeder from South Dakota, says that negatively impacts the US cattle industry. “It appears that they knew that they had atypical cases.  They didn’t report them timeline and they pumped up their pipeline with product and shipped it to China in advance of that.”

He tells Brownfield Brazil can be held accountable through the World Trade Organization, but the agency takes too long to resolve those complaints.

He says that’s why the NCBA has called on the USDA to block imports of Brazilian fresh beef. “Our government needs to do it now and take that stance and cut the bleeding there in terms of our producers what they’re experiencing from some potential fraud.”

In November, NCBA sent a letter to Secretary Tom Vilsack asking his agency to suspend all fresh beef imports from Brazil to the United States.

Brownfield interviewed Wilkinson at the Nebraska Cattlemen’s Convention.