Reading Time: < 1 minute Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil has temporarily halted beef exports to China following an atypical case of BSE in leading farm state Mato Grosso, the agriculture ministry said on Monday. China, Brazil’s largest beef importer by sales, spent US$1.5 billion on Brazilian beef last year, totaling 322,400 tonnes or almost 20 per cent of […] Read more
Brazil halts beef exports to China after atypical BSE case
JBS predicts profits will be stronger this year
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — JBS SA executives said Friday the Brazilian meat company will deliver higher earnings in 2019 on strong demand for beef in the U.S. and Australia as well as growing Chinese demand for various proteins. Still, first-quarter results will reflect lower cattle availability in the U.S. due to rains and a […] Read more
JBS posts narrower-than-expected quarterly loss
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil-based food company JBS SA on Tuesday posted a narrower than expected quarterly loss on the back of a strong performance by its Seara processed foods and Brazil beef divisions, and resilience in certain of its U.S. operations. Seara booked net sales of 4.9 billion reais (C$1.72 billion) last quarter, […] Read more
JBS shareholder Batista arrested in food sector corruption investigation
Reading Time: 2 minutes Rio de Janeiro | Reuters – Brazilian police arrested one of the controlling shareholders of meatpacker JBS SA on Friday in connection with an ongoing police inquiry into illegal campaign contributions while a local news outlet reported two former agriculture ministers were also arrested. A member of JBS’ controlling family Joesley Batista is expected only to […] Read more
Russia to resume beef, pork imports from Brazil
Reading Time: < 1 minute Moscow/Sao Paulo | Reuters – Russia’s agriculture safety watchdog said on Wednesday it would allow imports of beef and pork from nine Brazilian plants beginning on Thursday, ending an 11-month ban triggered by concerns about the safety of their meat products. Russia’s Rosselkhoznadzor had placed temporary restrictions on imports of pork and beef products from […] Read more
Hog industry worldwide getting slaughtered in trade war
Reading Time: 5 minutes Beijing/Chicago/Carambei | Reuters – Ken Maschhoff, chairman of the largest U.S. family-owned pork producer, has watched profits fall as trade tensions rise between the United States and China. His company, The Machhoffs, has halted U.S. projects worth up to $30 million and may move some operations overseas. Investing in domestic operations now would be “ludicrous” […] Read more
Brazil judge orders Monsanto to deposit royalties related to GMO seed
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — A Brazilian judge has ordered local units of Monsanto to put royalties related to a GMO soy seed technology in an escrow account, in a decision likely to hinder the U.S. seed company’s ability to collect royalties from the business. The July 3 ruling relates to a patent dispute between […] Read more
Chickens culled as Brazil truckers disrupt commodity exports
Reading Time: 3 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — Striking truckers in Brazil have disrupted supply and exports of farm produce from one of the world’s agricultural commodity powerhouses. Brazil is the top global exporter of soybeans, sugar, coffee and chickens. The strike over high fuel prices has paralyzed Latin America’s largest economy, emptied Brazilian roadways and left major […] Read more
Marfrig to buy control of U.S.-based National Beef
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters –– Brazil’s Marfrig Global Foods said Monday it would buy control of Kansas City-based National Beef Packing for US$969 million, in a deal that would make it the world’s No. 2 beef processor. Marfrig also said it was seeking to sell an existing U.S. unit, Keystone Food. The proceeds will be […] Read more
JBS still keen on U.S. IPO despite scandals
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — JBS SA, the world’s largest meatpacking firm, remains intent on a stock market listing of subsidiary JBS Foods International in the U.S. despite corruption and food safety scandals, executives said on Thursday. In April all of JBS operations will meet U.S. auditing and compliance requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, JBS […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
