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The Chinese government has asked Brazil to suspend exports of the two meat plants citing concerns over the coronavirus outbreak at the food processing facility in the South American country, a source familiar with the matter told the media.
China has already blocked exports from six meatpacking plants in Brazil, the world’s second-hardest-hit country in the pandemic, with nearly 2 million cases of the respiratory disease.
Of the two additional plants China would like to block, one produces beef and the other processes poultry, the person said, on condition of anonymity.
China is the largest buyer of Brazilian beef, chicken and pork.
Brazilian newspaper Valor Econômico earlier reported the request, without citing a source.
Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The request, delivered in a letter to the Brazilian Embassy in Beijing, has yet to arrive in Brazil for the government to consider a response, the source said.
Brazilian Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias has said there is no evidence the coronavirus is transmitted in food.
The letter from the Chinese authorities requested information related to 12 other meat plants, seeking to find out whether media reports of coronavirus outbreaks in those facilities were true, the person said. Find more...
Source: Online/SZK
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