Porto Alegre, July 30, 2020 – Last Thursday, China’s National Health Commission issued a series of regulations regarding the control of COVID-19 on the factory floor of slaughterhouses, including the certification of a coronavirus-free product. The standards impose a series of guidelines, including conducting nucleic acid tests for the coronavirus. Another requirement concerns the origin of animals, maintaining a complete traceability process. Basically, animals cannot come from regions that have outbreaks of the disease. It is important to point out that there is no scientific evidence that COVID-19 can be transmitted through food or packages.
The problem with imposing this type of norm lies in the difficulty of controlling the disease in relevant producing countries. China has already suspended shipments from some slaughterhouses from its main suppliers of animal protein, including Brazil, Argentina, Germany, the United States, Holland, India, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. That is, if this kind of protocol is really adopted, there will be no suppliers able to meet this type of requirement, which may result in supply difficulties in the Chinese market.
Despite some news pointing to the recovery of the herd of matrices in the Chinese market, the supply gap remains present in the Asian country. Therefore, it will be necessary to maintain the import bias in the second half of the year. This kind of protocol can bring more problems to the Chinese market rather than any kind of benefit. The fact is that the Asian giant remains dependent in a strategic area, the food security of its population.
Agência SAFRAS Latam
Copyright 2020 – Grupo CMA