Brazil pork industry eyes U.S. market as exports rise
By Arnaldo de Sousa on 1/22/2008 for Meatingplace.com
U.S. inspectors may visit Brazil to determine whether its pork exports are fit to enter U.S. commerce, the president of the Brazilian Pork Industry and Exporter Association (ABIPECS) told Meatingplace.com.
"We've entered 2008 with optimism," said Pedro Camargo Neto. "We hope to receive in the first half of the year a mission of the United States to initiate a risk-analysis study, which represents the first step in the process of opening that market."
However, Neto noted that his U.S. counterparts have not yet accepted Brazil's invitation to visit. "If the U.S. mission arrives in Brazil, the process of opening takes one to two years to evaluate the situation of risk to classical swine fever, for example, and recognition of the state of Santa Catarina as free of foot-and-mouth without vaccination," he said, adding that Brazil hopes to receive a similar visit by Mexico.
Brazil's optimism comes as its worldwide pork and pork variety meat exports rose to 606,512 metric tons from January through December of 2007, a nearly 15 percent increase from 528,190 metric tons in the same period in 2006. Value grew almost 19 percent to $1.23 billion, according ABIPECS.