Brazil to resume beef exports to China, Saudi Arabia

Brazilian Agriculture Minister Neri Geller said Tuesday that beef exports to China and Saudi Arabia would resume next month after the embargo of Brazilian meat products by the two countries ends.

Neri said exports to China are expected to resume earlier, by the first half of December, adding that China decided to lift the embargo during last week's G20 summit in Australia, which was attended by both Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Saudi Arabia plans to send a delegation of specialists to inspect Brazil's meat packing plants next week, before officially authorizing beef imports to start in the second half of December.

Both countries suspended Brazilian beef imports in 2012, following an atypical case of mad cow disease in the South American nation.

The ministry said beef exports to China and Saudi Arabia are expected to increase significantly compared to that in 2012, with exports to China rising from 37 million U.S. dollars in 2012 to at least 700 million dollars in 2015.