Blockade of meat is not a problem for relations with China, says Bolsonaro

President Jair Bolsonaro (no party) stated that China’s veto of Brazilian meat is not a consequence of its relationship with the Asian country or with the president Xi Jinping.

“There is no such thing, it has already been resolved. It’s not because I don’t like that president that I’m going to stop doing business with that country. If it’s cheaper, I’ll buy it from him”, he said in an interview with Cultura FM radio this Wednesday (10).

Bolsonaro also questioned the recognition of cases of “mad cow” disease in Brazilian slaughterhouses.

“The problem with meat, which has dozens of ships stopped in China, is that a month or so ago a public official from Minas Gerais said he had a case of ‘mad cow’. But he spoke with lip service, without any proof.”

As required by the international protocol, the occurrence of two atypical cases of the disease called “mad cow” (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) in slaughterhouses in Nova Canaã do Norte (MT) and Belo Horizonte (MG) was notified by the Department of Defense Agriculture of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply on 4 September.

The Brazilian government seeks to prove that there is no transmission of the disease in the country — hence the designation of “atypical cases” — in an attempt to free up exports to the Chinese.

“When this news came out, we were forced to inform the countries that import our meat what the server said. By announcing this, China simply blocked our exports,” stated the president.

According to a survey by the Brazilian Association of Meat Shops (Abrafrigo), the volume of Brazilian beef exports dropped 43% in October when compared to the same period in 2020, when exports to China still occurred normally, due to this episode.

*with information from Reuters