Brazil

NPPC’s Position

Brazil has a de facto ban on U.S. pork that must be eliminated. There is no science-based reason for such a ban.

NPPC supports opening the Brazilian market to allow fresh, frozen and processed U.S. pork to be shipped to Latin America’s largest economy.

Background

The United States over the past 11 years, on average, has been the top pork exporting country worldwide. Exports added $53 – representing 35.5 percent of the $149 average value of a hog – to every U.S. hog marketed in 2017, when $6.48 billion of U.S. pork was exported.

Currently, fresh, frozen, and processed U.S. pork are ineligible to be shipped to Brazil because of unscientific mitigation requirements and other sanitary issues not based on science. Also, Brazil does not recognize the U.S. plant inspection and approval system for pork, instead insisting on a plant-by-plant approval process.

The United States operates a world-class plant inspection and approval system, and the country is confident that its system can meet Brazil’s “appropriate level of protection” for pork. The U.S. government has submitted to the Brazilian government a Veterinary Export Certificate for U.S. pork products and is currently awaiting Brazil’s response.

Fast Facts

Brazil has a population of more than 207 million people and a per capita income of $8,649 – higher than that of Mexico, the U.S. pork industry’s largest export market in volume terms.

Brazil’s pork consumption has nearly doubled in the last 20 years to 11.8 kg/person (26 lb).

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