Brazil is losing patience

The government of the South American country is pushing for the opening of the Chinese beef market. Australia is also protesting EXPORT restrictions.

Brazil has stepped up pressure in negotiations to reopen the Chinese market for Brazilian beef. Agriculture Minister Teresa Cristina da Costa Diaz, in a letter to CHINA 's General Administration of Customs, offered to come to Beijing in person to negotiate the lifting of the supply restriction, according to media reports. Meanwhile, Foreign Ministers Carlos Franca and Wang Yi held a digital conversation on the issue last Thursday. As Franca later revealed via Twitter, China   committed to quickly resolve the issue.

Brazil itself initiated a supply cut on September 4 due to two confirmed cases of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) under a HEALTH protocol agreed with China. Under this protocol, after the appearance of an atypical BSE, the export of Brazilian beef to China is suspended until the Beijing authorities complete their investigations.

In a similar case, exports were suspended for a total of 13 days in 2019. The fact that investigations have now been ongoing for several weeks is a growing concern in Brazil. Prior to the export ban, China was the South American country's most important beef importer. Of the 210,000 tons of beef shipped abroad in August alone, nearly 58 percent went to China, according to the Association of Brazilian Beef Exporters (ABIEC).