Govt bans Brazil meat imports

Walter Nyamukondiwa Chinhoyi Bureau
Government has temporarily banned the importation of meat and related products from Brazil, with that country already investigating rotten meat exports.

In an interview on the sidelines of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s tour of Pamene Farm in Alaska, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Dr Joseph Made said the position was precautionary.

Sanitary and quality levels have come into question in Brazil, resulting in several countries suspending meat imports from that country.

“This is a matter that is being investigated by the Brazilian Government themselves,” said Dr Made.

“So, with us it is the same, we suspended importation of any goods that are related to meat products originating from Brazil.”

He said this also applied to products processed and repackaged in other countries, but originating from that country.

Zimbabwe has been importing large quantities of meat, including cheap chickens from Brazil.

Dr Made said the ban would subsist until Brazilian authorities finalised investigations into the matter and Zimbabwe’s authorities conducted inspections in the country and were satisfied.

All authorities related to sanitation and health, including ministries of Industry and Commerce, Health and Child Care and Agriculture have that position, he said.

Dr Made said Cabinet had already been notified of the position.

South Africa and China have also imposed a ban on the products, with Hong Kong experiencing price instability as a result of the ban, as the country imports large quantities from Brazil.

The South American country is reportedly the largest producer of poultry and red meat.

At least 30 people have been arrested in a raid at meat processing plants in Brazil, while several civil servants have been suspended for abating unhygienic and other malpractices.

Meanwhile, Government’s zero-tolerance stance on GMOs is now beginning to pay dividends after a visiting French Parliament delegation said France was ready to trade in non-organic products.