The end of the Brazilian beef embargo is present for the sector, says ABAG director

The executive director of the Brazilian Agribusiness Association (ABAG), Eduardo Daher, believes that the end of the Chinese embargo on Brazilian meat is “a Christmas gift” for the sector.

In an interview with CNN Radio, he assessed that this decision –advanced by CNN analyst Gustavo Uribe– retakes the “largest food market in the world”, since China has 1.4 billion mouths to feed.

However, he said he does not believe the decision will be felt later this year. “It will not be able to reach these last days of 2021, there are logistical difficulties, we are currently experiencing problems with maritime navigation, the return of containers going to Asia without the necessary speed and freight costs that make the process more expensive.”

Daher praised the performance of Minister of Agriculture Tereza Cristina who, according to him, “was the diplomat who reopened this market.”

On the “half empty glass” side, the director of ABAG highlighted that “with the resumption of exports, the meat market will prefer to export than sell in the local market, because it receives in dollars and, consequently, we will see, again, an increase of meat in butchers and supermarkets.”

The pandemic period, according to the expert, brought the characteristic of “importing inflation”: “The world wants to stock up on food, luckily Brazil is a large producer, our exchange rate favors agro-exports and makes the product more expensive on the market domestic.”

“It’s a problem of unbalanced supply and demand, I believe that in 6 months we should return to a constant level, where we would not only export but also supply the domestic market”, he added. For 2022, Eduardo Daher projects that it will be another year of excellent results for Brazilian agribusiness.