Tag Archives: Export

U.S. bans fresh Brazil beef imports over safety concerns

A customer (R) pays for his meat at the Municipal Market in Sao Paulo October 10, 2014. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

By Tom Polansek

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The United States halted imports of fresh Brazilian beef on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said, after a high percentage of shipments failed to pass safety checks.

The USDA had “recurring concerns about the safety of the products intended for the American market,” after increasing tests on Brazilian beef in March, according to a statement.

The agency raised scrutiny on Brazilian beef and ready-to-eat products as a precaution following an investigation into corruption involving Brazil’s health inspectors that targeted meat companies JBS SA <JBSS3.SA> and BRF SA <BRFS3.SA>.

JBS, the world’s largest meat packer, declined to comment on the U.S. ban.

The USDA’s action threatens the reputation of meat from Brazil, the world’s top exporter of beef and poultry, even though the United States is not a top customer. It also could boost domestic sales in the United States.

“Product was already on the water and that’s not going to be allowed in,” Altin Kalo, a U.S. livestock analyst at Steiner Consulting Group, said about shipments headed to the United States from Brazil via boat.

Since March, the USDA has rejected 11 percent of Brazilian fresh beef products, compared to the rejection rate of 1 percent for shipments from the rest of the world, the agency said. The shipments, totaling about 1.9 million pounds, raised concerns about public health, animal health and sanitation, according to the USDA.

The agency said none of the rejected lots made it into the U.S. market.

The move to block Brazilian meat is a turnaround for Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, who warned in March that Brazil might retaliate if the United States halted beef imports.

On Thursday, he said in a statement that “although international trade is an important part of what we do at USDA, and Brazil has long been one of our partners, my first priority is to protect American consumers.”

The U.S. suspension will remain in place until Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry “takes corrective action which the USDA finds satisfactory,” according to the agency.

A slew of global buyers, including China, Egypt and Chile, curtailed imports of Brazilian meat after Brazilian federal police unveiled an investigation into alleged corruption in the sector on March 17.

Brazilian authorities said at the time that meat companies made payments to government health officials to forego inspections and cover up health violations.

China is not expected to follow the U.S. move as it only permits imports of frozen Brazilian beef, which has different requirements to fresh meat, said analysts.

Brazil is also China’s top beef supplier, and would be difficult to replace in the short-term, said Pan Chenjun, senior animal protein analyst at Rabobank.

The United States began allowing shipments of fresh beef from Brazil last year after banning them due to concerns about foot and mouth disease in cattle.

(Additional reporting by Michael Hirtzer in Chicago, Tatiana Bautzer in Sao Paulo and Dominique Patton in Beijing.; Editing by David Gregorio and Bill Trott)

Chinese supermarkets pull Brazil meat from shelves as food safety fears grow

A customer chooses a meat product at Sun Art Retail Group's Auchan hypermarket store in Beijing, China, November 9, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

By Dominique Patton

BEIJING (Reuters) – Some of China’s largest food suppliers have pulled Brazilian beef and poultry from their shelves in the first concrete sign that a deepening scandal over Brazil’s meat processing industry is hitting business in its top export market.

The moves by Sun Art Retail Group <6808.HK>, China’s biggest hypermarket chain, and the Chinese arms of global retail giants Wal-Mart Stores Inc <WMT.N> and Metro AG <MEOG.DE> come days after China temporarily suspended Brazilian meat imports.

Safety fears over Brazilian meat have grown since police accused inspectors in the world’s biggest exporter of beef and poultry of taking bribes to allow sales of rotten and salmonella-tainted meats.

A spokeswoman for Sun Art Retail, which operates 400 Chinese hypermarkets, said on Wednesday the chain had removed beef supplied by top Brazilian exporters BRF SA <BRFS3.SA> and JBS SA <JBSS3.SA> from its shelves from Monday. Brazilian beef accounts for less than 10 percent of Sun Art’s beef supply, she said.

Wal-Mart has also removed Brazilian meat products from its stores, a person familiar with the matter said. He declined to be quoted because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Germany’s Metro has withdrawn Brazilian chicken legs and wings from its Chinese stores, said a manager, who declined to be named as he was not allowed to speak to media. The retailer, with 84 stores in China, does not sell Brazilian beef.

JD.com<JD.O>, one of China’s biggest online retailers, said in an emailed statement it had also removed all listings for imported Brazilian meat and is reviewing orders in process.

While Brazilian officials sought late on Tuesday to reassure consumers that the investigation had revealed only isolated incidents of sanitary problems, the reaction by Chinese retailers suggests that the probe could have far-reaching repercussions for the world’s top meat exporter.

Chinese consumers appeared largely unconcerned or unaware of the scandal in Brazil, with few people commenting on the issue on the country’s vibrant social media networks.

But the country has been hit by its own safety scandals in the past, making retailers sensitive to any potential risks.

“We removed the product already on March 20,” said Sun Art’s spokeswoman, noting it was ahead of the Chinese government’s first official comment on the issue.

Brazil is the top supplier of beef to China, accounting for about 31 percent of its imports in the first half of last year. Much of it is used in canteens and foodservice and branded Brazilian beef is less prominent in supermarkets than Australian beef.

Importers are expected to wait a few more days before seeking out alternative supplies, which will likely be more costly than Brazil’s.

“It’s a 45-day lead-time to get any product here. What if they lift the ban by the end of the week?” said an industry source who declined to be identified.

Hong Kong, the second-biggest buyer of Brazilian meat last year, has also issued a ban on imports, following similar steps by Japan, Canada, Mexico and Switzerland.

Major Hong Kong supermarket chain PARKnSHOP said it had removed Brazilian pork, beef and chicken from shelves.

“To cater for the needs of customers, we will increase the supply of meat and poultry products from other countries,” it said in a statement, without elaborating.

(This story was refiled to remove extraneous words from headline)

For a graphic on Brazil meat scandal, click http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/BRAZIL-CORRUPTION-FOOD/010040820J5/BRAZIL-MEAT.jpg

(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom and Dominique Patton; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Susan Thomas)