Brazil pushing for poultry, pork access - South American nation eyes Jamaican market

São Paulo, Brazil:

Brazil is awaiting Jamaica’s response to a proposed sanitary agreement that would clear the way for poultry and pork exports to the island.

Although Brazil is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of animal protein, it is currently not authorised to export poultry or pork to Jamaica because no bilateral sanitary certification agreement is in place. Brazilian beef exports to Jamaica are also limited to processed or canned products.

According to Estevão Carvalho, executive manager of markets at the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA), the technical process has already been completed at the regional level.

“A CARICOM technical visit took place in Brazil in 2024. CARICOM also carried out a risk assessment in Brazil. As a result, Brazil was approved by them,” Carvalho said.

“Now the door should be open for an agreement on health certification between Brazil and Jamaica, which would allow Brazil to start exporting poultry and pork. However, Brazil has filed a certificate proposal that has not been answered until this moment,” he added.

ABPA President Ricardo Santin, speaking with The Gleaner during the SIAVS International Animal Protein Trade Show in São Paulo, Brazil, which ran from August 4 to 6, said Jamaica remains a market of interest because of its high consumption of chicken and stressed that Brazil sees opportunities to complement, rather than compete with, local production.

“Any market is important for Brazil. Jamaica also. Jamaica is one of the largest consumers of chicken meat in the world, so this is important for us,” Santin said.

rigorous quality control

Speaking on Brazil’s ability to meet international requirements, ABPA Technical Director Sula Alves said the country’s animal protein export system is supported by strict traceability, government supervision and globally recognised food safety measures.

“Every exported product undergoes rigorous quality control, as well as official inspections and checks to certify its compliance,” Alves said.

She explained that export plants operate under continuous supervision by Brazil’s Federal Inspection Service and follow Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point systems and Good Manufacturing Practice protocols aligned with Codex Alimentarius standards. National programmes also monitor products for chemical residues, veterinary drugs and pathogens, including salmonella.

Alves said poultry and swine farms maintain stringent biosecurity measures, while national contingency plans allow authorities to quickly contain any suspected disease outbreaks through quarantines, movement controls and surveillance.

She also pointed to Brazil’s recent recognition by the World Organization for Animal Health as free from foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination.

“For our trade partners in Jamaica and across the Caribbean, this certification provides definitive, science-based assurance,” she said. “It confirms not only the eradication of the virus from our livestock population, but also the world-class strength of our national biosecurity infrastructure.”

Brazil also maintains that its commercial poultry flocks remain free of highly pathogenic avian influenza and that the country has never recorded African swine fever in its swine herd.

Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of chicken meat, supplying 153 countries and accounting for about 37 per cent of global poultry exports. The country produced approximately 15.3 million tonnes of chicken last year and is also the world’s fourth-largest pork producer and third-largest exporter, producing 5.6 million tonnes of pork last year.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com