São Paulo – Egypt has cleared the import of Brazilian beef from Paraná. According to information disclosed by the country’s embassy in Brasília, shipments of the product from Paraná to the Egyptian market have been allowed since September 29th. “This is important as it may influence other Arab countries, as Egypt imports much beef from Brazil,” said the CEO at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Michel Alaby.
Egypt suspended purchases after the disclosure, in December last year, of the identification of the agent that causes mad cow disease in an animal in the Paraná state herd that had died in 2010. The animal, however, did not die from the disease and didn’t develop it. However, several countries embargoed purchase of Brazilian beef. Some closed their markets only to the slaughterhouses installed in Paraná. Saudi Arabia is one of the nations that has not yet liberated purchases of the Brazilian product.
To cancel the Egyptian embargo, several actions were developed by the government of Brazil. The CEO at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Michel Alaby, and the Government Relations executive, Tamer Mansour, met with representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Recovery of Egypt in June this year. In August, the organisation received visits by representatives of the Brazilian Beef Industry and Exporters Association (Abiec) and the Federation of Muslim Associations of Brazil (Fambras), which promotes halal certification in the country.
According to Alaby, at the meeting at the Egyptian ministry the details of the case were explained, among them the fact that the state of Paraná is not very representative in production in the sector and that beef from the state is still consumed by Brazil with no risks to the population. In May this year, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) confirmed maintenance of the Brazil’s sanitary status as one of “insignificant risk”, the lowest possibly granted in the case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease.
Despite the embargo to Paraná, from January to September this year, Egypt was the Arab country that purchased most beef from Brazil. The Egyptians acquired 101,100 tonnes. But there was a reduction of 27.19% over shipments in the same period last year, when the total had reached 139,640 tonnes. The decision by the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Recovery of Egypt for liberation of beef from Paraná was taken on September 28th this year.
*Translated by Mark Ament
