European Supermarket Magazine reports that Brazil could soon obtain approval to sell more meat products to the European Union, said South America's Agriculture Minister, Carlos Favaro.

First in the UK

Favaro's comments were made during a visit to a BRF SA chicken factory in Lucas do Rio Verde, Mato Grosso state, which is currently seeking permission to export products to the United Kingdom.

In this regard, the minister said the factory has already received the green light for exports to the United Kingdom. In a statement, the agriculture ministry clarified that permission had not yet been granted, but was in process, and that the next step would be a factory audit. If successful, the ministry will proceed with authorizing Lucas do Rio Verde to export chicken to the United Kingdom, the statement said.

"With the potential approval of the BRF factory to export to the United Kingdom, which is a process already underway, there is an expectation that this will be the first step towards conquering new markets in the EU," the ministry said, adding that it was an "expectation" rather than a "guarantee."

Export ban

In 2018, the EU suspended imports from 20 Brazilian meat factories, mostly poultry producers.

The ban dealt a blow to Brazil's largest chicken processor, BRF, which had 12 factories barred by the EU following its involvement in a food safety investigation.

Exports from the banned factories remain suspended, according to the meat lobby ABPA. But the EU sent a mission to Brazil, and companies are awaiting its results, which could lift the bans, ABPA said. Currently, the EU is the sixth-largest destination for Brazil's chicken exports, ABPA said.

Favaro said BRF's Lucas do Rio Verde plant was also authorized to resume exports to China, following a suspension that had been in place since 2016.

Brazil is the world's largest meat exporter and accounts for nearly 40% of global chicken shipments, according to trade data.

Last year, Brazil exported 316,000 metric tons of chicken products to the EU, trade data shows. (Photo: Freepik)