São Paulo – A delegation from Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, led by executive secretary Eumar Novacki, sat down for a meeting (pictured above) on Sunday (25) with Saudi Arabia’s deputy minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Ahmed Bin Saleh Al Ayadah, in Riyadh. The Brazilian Ministry said it was agreed that the first week of May will see a Saudi technical mission travel to Brazil to clear the sale of livestock to Saudi Arabia.
A press release from the Brazilian Ministry quoted Ayadah as saying Saudi Arabia is keenly interested in broadening its ties with Brazil, which date back 40 years.
Cattle imports had been halted in late 2012, due to an atypical case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Brazil’s Paraná state. This led Saudi to stop importing Brazilian beef and livestock. Although beef purchases had resumed, talks leading to a resumption of livestock trade hadn’t begun until recently.
The Brazilian delegation that travelled to Saudi Arabia also addressed halal poultry slaughter standards – i.e. slaughter carried out in accordance with Muslim tradition. Saudi Arabians will not accept chickens that have been stunned with electric shock prior to having their throats slit, a method which the Brazilian industry relies on, and which arguably leads to higher-quality meat.
The Brazilians presented a study on the subject by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) and the University of São Paulo, but the Saudis will not give in. Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry said the Brazilian government has called upon Saudi authorities to delay, for another 60 days, their ruling that chicken shipped to the country must not have been stunned prior to slaugther. The original deadline is April 1st.
The Brazilian Ministry also said it has invited a Saudi delegation to come to Brazil and witness halal slaughter being carried out. Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce Special Projects advisor Tamer Mansour, who’s in Saudi Arabia with the Brazilian delegation, said the issue might be brought up again during a meeting of the GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) next June.
The Ministry also said Brazil and Saudi will enter into a memorandum of intentions to enhance bilateral ties in this regard, as well as a technical cooperation agreement for the sharing of experiences.
The Brazilian delegation also had meetings at the GSO and the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA). Besides Novacki and Mansour, the mission comprised other Brazilian government officials and private sector players, as well as delegates from halal certifying bodies.
Saudi Arabia is the premier export destination for Brazil’s poultry industry. The first two months of this year saw USD 170 million worth of poultry shipped from Brazil to Saudi, down 21% from a year ago. Beef exports came out to nearly USD 17 million, down 47% year-on-year, according to numbers from the Brazilian Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
