The discovery of the case of mad cow in Pará did not serve as an excuse to cover up possible changes in the price of meat, said today (23) the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Carlos Fávaro. In an exclusive interview with Agência Brasil, he denied rumors propagated by social networks that the disease would help the government manipulate the food market.
“Under no circumstances would we carry out any type of market manipulation to affect our international relations with China, to the detriment of wanting to lower the price of our beef for a few days. [por meio do aumento da oferta interna]. Brazil is a country of principles, which respects the market, which guarantees credibility in its relations and would never participate in any type of action like this”, declared the minister.
Saying that fake news must be fought, the minister attributed the rumors to the opposition and reiterated that the government is conducting the process with transparency and credibility. “This is a speech, a Bolsonarist rhetoric, of those who do not want the good of Brazil, of those who like to plant fake news. I ask the population. Brazil is an efficient, modern, transparent country with clear rules. Don’t believe lies. don’t believe in fake news”, asked Favaro.
The minister also ruled out any risk for the Brazilian consumer. Although the consumption of meat from elderly animals is allowed in the domestic market, Fávaro pointed out that the Health Surveillance of the Ministry of Agriculture is effective and monitors the quality of the meat consumed in the country. “The Brazilian consumer can be sure. our system [de vigilância sanitária] it’s efficient. We are confident that there is no risk of contamination,” she said.
test results
Fávaro informed that the result of the test of the samples sent abroad will come out by the middle of next week. The minister admitted that there will be a slight delay because yesterday (22), the day the material arrived in Canada, was also a holiday in the North American country. According to him, the government is in a final procedure to clear (release) the sample at Canadian customs, so that it can reach the laboratory by Sunday (26).
“We are working on our diplomacy, our contacts so that the laboratory [canadense] give special attention and agility, which should happen in two or three days from the moment the sample is there. Then we will have the result. Immediately, the information will be made available to the market”, he said.
Although the disease has been confirmed by Brazilian laboratories, the examination in Canada, more sophisticated, will inform whether the case was atypical (spontaneously generated in nature, without transmission) or classic (transmitted between animals by ingestion of contaminated feed). Fávaro explained that the property in Marabá (PA), where the disease was detected, will be able to sell cattle again as soon as the atypical case is confirmed, and reiterated that the animal’s carcass was incinerated, without contact with the rest of the herd. .
“It is important to emphasize that Brazil has only had atypical cases of the disease so far. The animal did not eat feed, was only raised on pasture on a small property and was already considered elderly, aged 9 years. There are no symptoms in any other herd animal that has lived with him. All this indicates that [o caso de vaca louca] is a natural evolution of cell degeneration [do sistema nervoso] that some individuals have. Therefore, the expectation is that it should be considered another atypical case, ”he said.
China
The last time mad cow cases were confirmed in Brazil, in 2021, exports to China were suspended for about 100 days, from September to December of that year. Despite acknowledging that the suspension will bring losses to the Brazilian trade balance, the minister said he hoped the process would be brief.
“There have already been cases where the export [à China] was suspended for 13 days. President Lula’s watchword, which would not be different from the ministry, is total transparency in information, agility, compliance with protocols. This is key to being credible, and we are doing this right away from suspicion,” he said. The protocol suspending exports to China has been in force since 2015.
This morning, Fávaro met with the Chinese ambassador to Brazil, Zhu Qingqiao, to provide all clarifications. The minister said he had been well received by the Chinese government.
“I was talking today with the Chinese ambassador. We communicated the issue and I made available our secretaries of International Relations and Defense to go personally to China. We got the response from the Chinese government that there is no need. That they are satisfied with the way the process is being conducted. This is a very clear indication that this suspension should not last for many days”, commented Fávaro.
Confirmation of the mad cow case occurred at a time when beef exports to China were on the rise. In January, exports grew 7% in revenue and 17% in volume compared to the same month in 2022, totaling US$ 851.2 million and 183,817 tons, both in natura and frozen meat. Sales to China accounted for 57% of the total, with revenues of US$ 485.3 million and 100,164 tons exported.
