Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and cattle ranchers are
joining forces in an effort to improve Brazil’s cattle tracking system. The
present system has been in place since 2002 and ensures a better product in
compliance with European market rules.
The system makes it possible to trace the origin, sanitation care and feeding of animals from birth to slaughter.
According to Paulo Campani, at the ministry’s division of animal inspection, the idea is to create a quality product that will not be subject to embargoes such as occurred in the first half of this year when Russia and Argentina interrupted imports of Brazilian beef due to alleged sanitation problems.
With a quality product, says Campani, Brazil can maintain its position as the world’s biggest beef exporter.
Campani points out that by law Brazilian slaughterhouses are not obligated to identify the origin of animals, but that they do so because of international standards that the Ministry of Agriculture has introduced.
Brazil is consolidating its position as the world’s largest exporter of meat. Between January and May of this year, meat exports earned US$ 866 million, a 62.5 percent increase.
These figures were announced by Antenor Nogueira, president of the Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock’s (CNA) Permanent Forum on Beef Cattle.
“The meat consumed domestically in Brazil is of the same quality as the exported product. The grade is very high,” Nogueira affirms.
Russia alone buys 12 percent of the beef exported by Brazil. Brazil exports meat to over 100 countries.
Agência Brasil