Saudi Arabia bans poultry imports from Brazil

Saudi Arabia, one of the longtime importers of Brazilian poultry products, has decided to ban poultry imports from 11 factories located in the South American country. The decision must be applied on May 23. A joint statement by Brazil's agriculture and foreign ministries last week confirmed that no warning or explanation had been given for the decision.

“The Brazilian government was surprised and dismayed by Saudi Arabia's decision to suspend 11 poultry EXPORT businesses. There has been no prior contact from the Saudi Arabian authorities and they have not provided any motive or justification to support the suspension,” the joint statement said.

JBS, the world's largest MEAT company, also confirmed that it was affected by the ban, but declined to disclose how many factories were targeted by the decision, REUTERS reported. The Saudi Food and Drug Administration said imports from seven JBS factories will be suspended from May 23. BRF, Brazil's largest chicken meat processor, said none of its divisions were affected by the ban.

The Brazilian government said it had begun talks with Saudi Arabia regarding the bans.