RUSSIA-BRAZIL/VACALOCA – REUTERS Agency
RIO DE JANEIRO, April 7 (Reuters) – Russia announced on Friday the end of restrictions on beef imports from Brazil due to an isolated case of the atypical “mad cow disease” that occurred in Marabá, in the state of Pará, reported the Brazilian government in a statement.
The announcement, which adds to the recent reopening of other markets, such as the Philippines on March 28, represents the full normalization of trade in the product with Russia, the statement added.
The Government explained that, unlike the classic form of the disease, called bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the atypical form is a natural and spontaneous phenomenon in cattle herds, which does not represent a risk to public health and does not justifies import restrictions, according to the guidelines of the World Organization for Animal Health (OMSA).
Due to the case, Russia had suspended on March 1 the import of beef from animals over 30 months old from Pará, in northern Brazil.
In 2022, beef exports to Russia totaled about $165 million, equivalent to 24,000 tons of the product, according to government data.
The Philippines is the sixth destination for Brazilian beef exports, with a total of 275 million dollars in 2022 (61,000 tons). (Reporting by Marta Nogueira, Editing in Spanish by Manuel Farías)
Source: Ambito
