Brazil to Export High Quality Lotfed Beef to EU
BRAZIL - Recent talks between the Brazilian Beef Exporters Association (ABIEC) and the EU have resulted in changes to regulations, allowing Brazil to export lotfed beef under EU's High Quality Beef (HQB-Hilton) quota.Currently, according to Commission Regulation (EC) No 810/2008, Brazil is allowed to export only selected chilled boneless beef cuts from steers or heifers, which have been exclusively fed with pasture grass since weaning.
Analysts at Meat and Livestock Australia say that the changes will allow shipments from the growing Brazilian feedlot industry, and will encourage local producers to obtain EU certification, by ensuring a higher price mark-up over non-EU eligible animals. Demand for EU certified cattle should also increase, with Brazil’s Hilton quota increasing from 5,000 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes in May this year, as compensation for Romania and Bulgaria’s EU accession in 2007.
In addition, Brazilian exporters are negotiating the management of the approved farms list to shift to the local Ministry of Agriculture. This would accelerate the auditing and certification process, which is considered to be slow. ABIEC forecasts that if rules are modified, another 6,500 to 7,500 farms may be certified within one year, over the current 1,500 approved farms (the country had around 10,000 farms approved before February 2008’s partial ban).
Beef exports to the EU (Brazil’s highest value market) for the period January to September 2009 reached 29,927 tonnes swt, with chilled exports accounting for 39% of the total – averaging US$7,871/tonne FOB. Although total volumes were up 9 per cent year-on-year, shipments were still 80 per cent below the 152,284 tonnes swt shipped in 2007.
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