There has been a suspected case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as "mad cow disease", in Brazil.
The BSE is suspected in a seven-year-old suckler cow in Pará, a northern state of Brazil.
In a statement, the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA) has said that the country’s government is taking all necessary measures to control the disease.
The animal carcase suspected to have BSE has been submitted for laboratory analysis.
Based on this testing, expected to take a number of days, the ministry says that the appropriate disease control actions will be applied.
Exports
Brazil last confirmed two atypical cases of BSE in September 2021 and another in 2019.
If the BSE case is confirmed in Brazil, it will likely be bad news for the country’s beef exports to China.
Last time a case was identified, in September 2021, the large beef player’s exports to China were suspended until mid-December of that year.
Ireland faced a similar closure of the Chinese market when a case of atypical BSE was identified here, in May 2020. However, Ireland’s ban lasted longer, until January 2023.
Markets
In 2022, Brazil exported 1.238m tonnes of beef to China, half of its total exports of 2.264m tonnes. Any closure of the Chinese market for the south American country could mean good and bad news for Irish beef.
If China suspends imports from Brazil for any length of time it will mean it will have a huge supply shortage. With China lacking beef, there will be opportunities created for other exporters, including Ireland.
However, there may also be a downside as there will be a large volume of Brazilian beef looking for an alternative home in world markets, especially the EU and UK. This would create additional competition for Irish beef in some of its traditional markets, which is not good news.
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