After four outbreaks of foot-and mouth disease were confirmed in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, with another two suspected cases, vaccination of the state's cattle and slaughtering of all infected animals has begun, reports Gazeta Mercantil. Many countries have suspended imports of beef with the resurgence of the disease in the southern state. These include the EU, which imports 45 per cent of the state's fresh beef sold abroad, as well as Chile, Israel, Russia, Singapore and Saudi Arabia, which together consumed over 44.5% of Brazilian shipments of meat. The state's cattle herd of about 13 million heads, should receive the first dose of the vaccine by May 27. According to the Brazilian Agriculture Minister Marcos Vinícius Pratini de Moraes, the state can begin exports to the EU, since the bloc had agreed to take up the state's beef imports 30 days after vaccination was completed. Pratini de Moraes also announced that the state will distribute for free eight million vaccines to small farmers, who own around 40 per cent of the state's cattle. The agriculture minister, the federal and state governments have decided that the protection belt around the infected areas must be reinforced and sanitary control intensified. Pratini de Moraes forecasts a $300m loss from exports by the end of the year. Last year, Brazil's exports of meat totalled $1.9 bn. Source: Gazeta Mercantil
