26 March 2017
The United Arab Emirates has banned food imports from Brazil, as a police inquiry into corruption and unsanitary conditions in the Latin American nation's powerful meatpacking industry triggered a wave of trade bans.
The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment said it has taken "precautionary measures" on imported food products from Brazil and calls upon the public "not to buy or consume Brazilian products" bearing certain identification numbers that it made public, according to a report by the Salaam Gateway web portal.
The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) on Thursday released a statement declaring it is closely following the ongoing investigation.
“We’re committed to transparency and engaged in the search for clarifications so all parts interested in the preservation of the relationship between Brazil and the Arab countries, specifically concerning exports of meats and products, are informed on the course of events,” Rubens Hannun, president of the ABCC, said in a press statement.
The ABCC said exports of meat and products to the Arab world totaled $574 million in the first two months of 2017, out of a total of $1.8 billion exported by Brazil to the region in the period.
The announcement last week came on the same day it was reported that Saudi Arabia had stopped beef and poultry imports from four Brazilian companies over concerns about food safety.
Following a two-year investigation of Brazil's meatpacking industry, police have accused more than 100 people, mostly health inspectors, of taking bribes for allowing the sale of rancid products, falsifying export documents or failing to inspect meatpacking plants.
Qatar does not import any meat or poultry products from any of the Brazilian meat processing firms under investigation, Roberto Abdalla, Brazilian ambassador to Qatar, was quoted as saying in a report on Friday by The Peninsula newspaper.
Despite the moves by the Gulf Arab states, China on Saturday lifted its ban on imports of meat from Brazil, after Brazilian authorities clarified details of a police investigation into alleged bribery of health inspectors, in a victory for President Michel Temer's efforts to stem damage from the probe, Reuters reported.
The move by China, the biggest national consumer of Brazilian meat, was accompanied by the lifting of import bans in Egypt and Chile, bringing hope of an end to a crisis that saw one-fifth wiped off the value of Brazilian pork and poultry exports last week.
Further reading:
Brazil beef scandal leaves fewer options for global buyers
Egypt says resumes Brazilian meat imports
Brazil meat probe will show further evidence of graft
EU to block any firms involved in Brazil meat scandal
Brazilian Animal Protein Association expects to $40 million losses
Brazil's agribusiness exports to Middle East reaches $1.336 billion during January and February 2017
Brazil food fraud scandal: how much halal exports are in the mix
© Express 2017
The United Arab Emirates has banned food imports from Brazil, as a police inquiry into corruption and unsanitary conditions in the Latin American nation's powerful meatpacking industry triggered a wave of trade bans.
The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment said it has taken "precautionary measures" on imported food products from Brazil and calls upon the public "not to buy or consume Brazilian products" bearing certain identification numbers that it made public, according to a report by the Salaam Gateway web portal.
The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) on Thursday released a statement declaring it is closely following the ongoing investigation.
“We’re committed to transparency and engaged in the search for clarifications so all parts interested in the preservation of the relationship between Brazil and the Arab countries, specifically concerning exports of meats and products, are informed on the course of events,” Rubens Hannun, president of the ABCC, said in a press statement.
The ABCC said exports of meat and products to the Arab world totaled $574 million in the first two months of 2017, out of a total of $1.8 billion exported by Brazil to the region in the period.
The announcement last week came on the same day it was reported that Saudi Arabia had stopped beef and poultry imports from four Brazilian companies over concerns about food safety.
Following a two-year investigation of Brazil's meatpacking industry, police have accused more than 100 people, mostly health inspectors, of taking bribes for allowing the sale of rancid products, falsifying export documents or failing to inspect meatpacking plants.
Qatar does not import any meat or poultry products from any of the Brazilian meat processing firms under investigation, Roberto Abdalla, Brazilian ambassador to Qatar, was quoted as saying in a report on Friday by The Peninsula newspaper.
Despite the moves by the Gulf Arab states, China on Saturday lifted its ban on imports of meat from Brazil, after Brazilian authorities clarified details of a police investigation into alleged bribery of health inspectors, in a victory for President Michel Temer's efforts to stem damage from the probe, Reuters reported.
The move by China, the biggest national consumer of Brazilian meat, was accompanied by the lifting of import bans in Egypt and Chile, bringing hope of an end to a crisis that saw one-fifth wiped off the value of Brazilian pork and poultry exports last week.
Further reading:
Brazil beef scandal leaves fewer options for global buyers
Egypt says resumes Brazilian meat imports
Brazil meat probe will show further evidence of graft
EU to block any firms involved in Brazil meat scandal
Brazilian Animal Protein Association expects to $40 million losses
Brazil's agribusiness exports to Middle East reaches $1.336 billion during January and February 2017
Brazil food fraud scandal: how much halal exports are in the mix
© Express 2017
