Agência Brasil
Brasília – A Chinese technical mission will arrive in Brazil on November 14, to inspect slaughterhouses in the country and authorize the expansion of Brazilian meat exports to that country. This is one of the results of the week-long visit by the Minister of Agriculture, Roberto Rodrigues, to China.
During the past 12 months, Brazil has exported 9 thousand tons of poultry, pork, and beef, worth US$ 6 million: US$ 1.6 million in poultry, US$ 2.4 million in pork, US$ 500 thousand in beef, and US$ 1.5 million in variety meats.
Minister Rodrigues, who is in Beijing, said today on the telephone that the Chinese are willing to import transgenic soybeans produced in Brazil. He also informed that a bilateral work group will be formed to study a long-term strategic project based on the growth potential of Brazilian agrobusiness and the Chinese demand for foodstuffs.
According to the Minister, negotiations were also initiated for a possible opening of the market to Brazilian fuel alcohol, "as a result of Chinese concern over the environment and the growth of the middle class in that country, inducing an increase in the fleet of vehicles." Rodrigues emphasized, however, that this negotiation will not occur immediately, since the Chinese have their own project to produce alcohol from corn.
