After Police Operation, Brazilian Meat Exports Fall from US$ 63 million per Day to US$ 74,000

03/23/2017 - 11h49

The exports of Brazilian meat declined sharply after the beginning of the Brazilian Federal Police's Carne Fraca (Poor Meat) operation investigating suspected corruption schemes in the inspection system of the production at dozens of slaughterhouses in the country.

Data presented by the Ministry of Development to Palácio do Planalto, the official workplace of the president of Brazil, on Wednesday, March 22, show that meat exports fell from an average of US$ 63 million per day to US$ 74,000 on Tuesday, March 21.

Some of the main importers, including the European Union, China and Japan, imposed sanctions on Brazilian meat this week as suspicions grew and the federal police operation advanced.

The decline in exports is a reflex of foreign importers' growing caution in the face of the crisis that the sector and Brazilian producers are now dealing with.

Producers decided to postpone slaughters to take on the fall in demand.

During a public hearing in the Senate, the Minister of Agriculture, Blairo Maggi, estimated that Brazilian slaughterhouses might lose some US$ 1.5 billion in sales as a consequence of the crisis, which is equivalent to 10% of the annual exports of Brazilian meat.

Maggi says that only China and Hong Kong have not accepted the explanations given by Brazil regarding the problems disclosed by the Carne Fraca operation and are not allowing any product from Brazilian slaughterhouses to enter their territories.

Other countries, such as Japan, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile say that they support the measures taken by the Brazilian government, which suspended three slaughterhouses and prohibited exports from 18 other facilities targeted by investigations.

In collaboration with DIMMI AMORA, from Brasília

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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