“This is the expectation we are hearing from the Agriculture Ministry,” he said in the report. Minerva SA interacts with the government through a meatpackers industry group.
The USDA has not commented on any plans to accept Brazilian beef back into the U.S.
Corruption scandal
Brazilian exports worldwide have sustained serious losses in the last year, and Minerva SA, the fourth-largest meat company in Brazil, is no exception.
The revelation of a corruption scandal involving Brazil’s health inspectors that targeted meat companies JBS SA, a division of the world’s largest meatpacker, and BRF SA in March 2017 kick-started an increased scrutiny of processed and fresh beef products coming in from Brazil.
Between March and June, the USDA rejected 11 percent of Brazilian fresh beef products, totaling about 1.9 million pounds, compared to the rejection rate of 1 percent for shipments from the rest of the world.
Several global buyers, including China, Egypt and Chile, followed suit after the March scandal, reducing imports of Brazilian meat after Brazilian federal police unveiled an investigation into alleged corruption in the sector stating that meat companies made payments to government health officials to forgo inspections and cover up health violations.
The USDA officially banned importing beef from Brazil on June 22, 2017, citing the failure of a high percentage of safety checks as the reason. “The USDA had recurring concerns about the safety of the products intended for the American market,” Reuters reports.
The report also states the U.S. found abscesses in the meat and signs of systemic failure of inspections that reinforced the USDA’s decision to ban Brazilian beef.
Russian ban
The Brazilian beef industry sustained another blow in November when Russia imposed a temporary ban on Brazilian beef and pork, requiring Minerva to supply Russia from its plants outside Brazil, Galletti said in a Reuters report.
He added that Minerva is meeting Russian demand through its other units in the Mercosur regional trade bloc that encompasses Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Russia has not released a timeline for lifting the ban on beef from Brazil itself. 
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Carrie Veselka
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