MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Russia reopens market to Brazil for 200,000 tons of beef and 100,00 of pork, zero-tariff

The opening of the Russian market is valid for six months. Normally the Russian import tariff for up to 530,000 tons is 15%.

Russia announced to Brazil that it was reopening its market for a quota of up to 300,000 tons of meat, at zero tariffs, including 200,000 tons of beef and 100,000 tons of pork. Likewise, Russia lifted restrictions on beef exports from a Minerva processing plant and certified a second plant to begin shipments.

The information was transmitted directly to Brazil's Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Tereza Cristina, who is meeting with officials in Moscow. The opening of the Russian market is valid for six months. Normally the Russian import tariff for up to 530,000 tons is 15%.

Minister Cristina met with the head of the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, (Rosselkhoznadzor), Sergey Dankvert and agreed that Russian vets will make an inspection visit to Brazil in the first quarter of 2022 to enable new slaughterhouses to export to Russia.

In a signal of goodwill, Russia removed restrictions, pending since 2017, on a beef exporting plant and certified a second abattoir, both belonging to the Minerva Group. The decisions were personally informed to Minister Cristina during her Moscow visit.

The authorized slaughterhouses are SIF 791, in Rolim de Moura, Rondonia, and 2911, located in Mirassol d’Oeste, Sao Paulo. Produce processed at these plants, such as meat, offal, and bovine fats may begin entering Russia this month.

The slaughterhouse in São Paulo had been suspended since May 2017, when Rosselkhoznadzor imposed restrictions on Brazilian beef and pork due to “numerous detections of the beta-adrenostimulant ractopamine” in Brazilian meat products.