Egypt’s Minister of Agriculture informed the Brazilian embassy in Cairo that Egypt was not placing a temporary ban on Brazilian beef imports, as had been reported in mid-December, Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture announced.
Minister Salaah Mohammed Abd Almo’men told Brazil’s Cairo ambassador that Egypt has not suspended beef imports from the Brazilian state of Parana, contrary to confirmations made Dec. 17 by Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture to news outlets, including Meatingplace.
The Brazilian ministry confirmed Abd Almo’men’s negation of the beef ban in a press release last Thursday.
Egypt had been one of six countries that were implementing total or partian bans on Brazilian beef imports since Dec. 7, after Brazil and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) reported details of a “non-classic” case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) with a 13-year-old dead cow from Parana state in 2010.
The Brazilian government and lead trade officials reacted to the string of export market closures by launching a diplomatic offensive.
Agricultural attachés visited specific key markets manned with information on the case, and federal officials spoke on Dec. 19 to 25 diplomats in Geneva, Switzerland, about the BSE case and Brazil's sanitary standards for livestock care.
Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture media team could not confirm why incorrect information had been provided to news outlets on Dec. 17 about Egypt’s stance on Brazilian beef.
Following a meeting between Brazilian and Egyptian officials held before Dec. 17, it’s possible that rumors circulated by the Brazilian embassy about a potential Egypt ban were taken as fact.
South Korea, China, Japan, South Africa and Saudi Arabia have still temporarily banned beef imports from all of Brazil.
