According to a statement from Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), Russia’s veterinary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor announced on March 25 that it had cleared two plants in the cities of Pará and Palotina Matelândia to resume exports.
Russia banned exports of animal products from the Brazilian states of Paraná, Mato Grosso and Rio Grande do Sul in June 2011. It first indicated its intention to lift the ban last November, but according to Celio Porto, secretary of international relations for MAPA, the approval of these two plants was the first “concrete gesture” by Russian authorities that they will suspend the restrictions on the three states.
MAPA expects that exporters from other states will now submit action plans for approval by Rosselkhoznadzor.