Brazilian beef stranded in Chinese ports triggers a Lula phone call to Xi
Since some 70,000 tons of Brazilian beef are stranded at Chinese ports awaiting an official clearance resolution from Beijing since the identification of an atypical case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), known as “mad cow disease” in Brazil, President Lula da Silva revealed he contacted his counterpart Xi Jinping on Juke 6, to try and overcome the situation.
The Brazilian leader during an event in the northeastern state of Bahía mentioned he had phoned the Chinese leader to attempt to solve the issue. Brazil suspended beef production for China after the BSE case was reported on February 23, but the produce that had already been cleared for export to the Asian giant continued to be shipped at the risk of being denied access to Chinese territory, which eventually happened.
A month later, on March 23, China agreed to resume beef exports from Brazil. The economic powerhouse accounted for over 60% of Brazilian beef exports in 2022.
Shipments resumed after the embargo was lifted. However, this did not resolve the situation for the cargo loads that were shipped during the embargo period. The cargo that left Brazilian ports after March 23 encountered no issues.
According to Lula, the Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, informed him that “70,000 tons of meat are stuck inside containers at Chinese ports.” During an agricultural fair in Bahia, the president revealed that Fávaro told him the products were in effect shipped “at the wrong time”.
Merco Press
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