The CEO of the Brazilian Beef Exporters Association (Abiec), Roberto Perosa, told Valor that Japanese technicians will travel to Brazil within a maximum of 60 days to inspect the sanitary conditions of beef production. This is the key step that allows the export of fresh beef to Japan. Brazil, the world leader in this segment, currently does not participate in that market, which imports US$4 billion a year. “The other steps are moving quickly. After that, we will receive the declaration from the World Organization for Animal Health stating that Brazil is free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination. The document will be attached to the process, and with this, all Brazilian states will be able to sell beef to Japan,” he added.
According to Perosa, Brazilian beef is the cheapest in the world and, because of that advantage, it raises concerns among competitors. The executive noted that the product does not compete with Japanese beef, considered higher value-added. This could make processed products in Japan cheaper and help curb inflation in the country. “Our product costs US$5,500 per ton. What happens is that Americans buy our cheaper beef and sell theirs to the Japanese for US$8,000,” he said.
