Marfrig restarts beef exports to US amid Covid-19 closures

Brazilian beef producer Marfrig has reportedly started export of fresh beef to the US amid supply disruptions caused due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

Marfrig Global Foods CEO Miguel Gularte in an interview told Reuters that the US lifted its ban on the import of fresh beef from Brazil in February.

In June 2017, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) imposed the ban on Brazilian beef products, after several shipments failed to clear its food safety checks.

Brazil is considered by the meat industry to be one of the largest beef producers in the world. Last year saw a total of $7.3bn worth of fresh and industrialised beef products exported.

Gularte told Reuters that the first shipments of Brazilian meat ‘should occur this month’.

The demand for Brazilian beef is said to have increased in the US after the outbreak of Covid-19 led to many recent meat plant closures in the country.

Marfrig has temporarily paused production at its Iowa beef plant. The decision was taken after some workers were confirmed positive with Covid-19, reported the news agency.

JBS USA recently announced a temporary closure of its beef production facility in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to slow down the community spread of Covid-19.