Traders Assess Suspension of Brazilian Beef Exports to China Due to BSE
Over the weekend, the agriculture ministry reported that Brazil has suspended beef exports to China after confirming two cases of “atypical” bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in two domestic meat plants. BSE, also referred to as mad cow disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle that is transmitted through contaminated feed. The two cases recently confirmed in Brazil were “atypical” since the disease appeared “spontaneously and sporadically, unrelated to the ingestion of contaminated food”, according to the agriculture ministry.
It is not yet certain when Brazilian beef exports to China will resume. The ministry stated there was no risk to animal or human health.
BSE was first diagnosed in 1986 in the United Kingdom and has since been detected in other countries. The first known case of BSE in the United States occurred in 2003 and resulted in the loss of most of the United States’ beef exports in 2004.
Brazil was the world's largest beef exporter in 2020. The indefinite suspension of Brazilian beef exports to China could be supportive of U.S. beef exports if the ban is not resolved quickly...
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