Hong Kong lifted its ban on imports of Brazilian beef, poultry and pork, due to the rotten meat scandal, less than a fortnight after imposing it – and Brazil is naturally pleased.
Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture (MAP) held a video conference with political counterparts in Hong Kong during the night on 28 March, in which a decision was reached to drop the temporary meat embargo.
Hong Kong’s government-run Centre for Food Safety (CFS), said the import ban now only covers the 21 meat plants still under investigation from the government.
‘Good news’
“The Brazilian authorities today provided the Hong Kong government with up-to-date information, and stated that it would strictly implement its international certification process to demonstrate the credibility of the system,” said the CFS.
MAP minister Blairo Maggi celebrated Hong Kong’s decision, calling it “good news”.
“It takes time [and] it does not happen by decree,” said Maggi in a press statement on 28 March. “You have to be present in many of these countries to show clearly how everything works.”
China, Chile and Egypt, all of which are key export markets for Brazilian meat producers, dropped trade restrictions earlier this week. South Korea and Barbados reopened their market to Brazilian meat imports last week.
A string of other markets – including Japan, the European Union, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia – are still not importing meat from the 21 factories under inspection by Brazilian authorities.
In a meeting held yesterday by MAP, Maggi said early government food safety tests ruled out the possibility that consumption of Brazilian meat products could lead to health issues.