Brazil has established a working group to advance measures to control the traceability of cattle and buffalo in the country.
The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa) said that the group will prepare a strategic plan to implement public policy on the identification of animals, including history, location and movement.
The secretary of agricultural defense, Carlos Goulart said that the issue of traceability has been raised in Brazil “for a long time” by purchasing countries.
“Traceability improves our control capacity in animal health programs, improves our handling of episodic outbreak issues and our profile of commitment to the requirements of importing countries,” he said.
The move towards traceability is part of Brazil’s commitment to tackle deforestation as a result of cattle production.
Traceability
Goulart noted that the debate on traceability is “old” and involves many parties along the food chain.
Although some consensus has been reached on how this is to be achieved, he added that fundamental issues still need to be resolved.
This includes at what stage in an animal’s life will it be tracked, whether tracking will be compulsory or voluntary, how traceability will be carried out and what the traceability mechanisms will be.
The working will be made up of representatives from the public and private sectors and will be given 60 days to debate, collect subsidies and prepare the strategic plan.
Along with representatives from government departments and organisations, the group will involve the Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock, the Brazilian Association of Meat Exporting Industries and livestock exporters.
Brazil
Meanwhile, Mapa said that exports of Brazilian agribusiness products stood at a record US$15.24 billion (€14 billion) in April 2024.
This accounted for almost half of the country’s total exports in April and marked a 4% increase on the US$14.67 billion exported in the same month of 2023.
The highest value export is soya beans, with the volume exported reaching 14.70 million tonnes, an increase of 362,400 tonnes compared to the quantity shipped in April 2023.
The quantity is the third largest ever recorded for a month in the entire historical series.
Foreign sales of Brazilian meat reached US$2.21 billion (€2 billion) in April 2024, with growth of 27.5% compared to exports on a year previously.
The value of beef exports increased by 69% on April 2023 to US$1.04 billion, driven by an increase in volume.
Mapa said that one of the biggest reasons for the expansion in the quantity exported is the rise in demand from China for fresh Brazilian beef.