China will resume beef purchases from Brazil. The decision was announced on Thursday (23) by the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Carlos Fávaro.

The main destination for Brazilian beef, accounting for 60% of total shipments abroad, China had not bought the protein since February 22, when an atypical case of mad cow disease was detected on a small farm in southeastern Pará.

With the case of mad cow disease, Brazil determined the self-embargo of shipments to the Chinese market, according to the trade agreement between the two countries.

The return of shipments for the protein to China was announced by Fávaro directly from Beijing, where he meets with a delegation of more than 100 entrepreneurs from the agricultural sector. According to him, the decision was confirmed by health authorities in the Asian country.

"I want to thank the Brazilian cattle ranchers, who trust our system" — Carlos Fávaro

"This was expected a few days ago," Favaro said. "I want to thank the Brazilian cattle ranchers, who trust our system. This gives us credibility in the international market," added the Minister of Agriculture. The holder of the Map also thanked the government of China, President Lula, the technical staff of the folder and the government of Pará, which, according to him, was quick and clear in communicating the case of mad cow disease.

Impacts of a month's embargo

That is, the suspension of purchases of Brazilian beef by China lasted exactly one month. This period was enough to reflect the overall export performance of the product. In this week's 'AgroExport' newsletter, Canal Rural's content director, Giovani Ferreira, highlighted: shipments in the first quarter of 2023 are expected to fall by about 20% (compared to the same period in 2022).

"We can calculate a 15% to 20% decline in beef shipments, mainly motivated by this self-embargo," Ferreira said.

Resumption of beef exports to China

The resumption of beef exports to China was already awaited by the market. The expectation, by the way, is that the embargo would be lifted in March, but only on the 28th. The date was even mentioned as a reference by market consultant Laura Rezende, from Agrifatto, in an interview with 'Mercado & Companhia' on March 8.

Also in an interview with Canal Rural's afternoon newscast, Alcides Torres, director of Scot Consultoria, said on Wednesday (22) that China's embargo should even be lifted quickly. According to his projections, this will cause the fat ox to appreciate again in the market. "With the return of China, we should have a recovery of the price in the arroba of the fat ox. And this should not change the situation of the final consumer, because the oscillations are already so weak that they should not change so much the price of the kilo of meat, "he pondered.

Source: Canal Rural