A team from China’s General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) arrived in Brazil Sunday to carry out technical and hygiene inspections of abattoirs and refrigeration units of chicken meat exporters, the Brazilian press reported.

The mission, which will inspect the facilities of companies associated to the Brazilian Aviculture Union (Ubabef), will visit abattoirs and refrigeration units in Rio Grande do Sul, in Santa Catarina, in Paraná and São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Goiás, and the visits are coordinated by the Brazilian Ministry for Agriculture, Livestock and Supply.

The inspections are part of the process of approving over 40 facilities to export chicken meat to China.

“China is one of the most representative import markets for chicken from Brazil, with significant growth in volume of shipments since the market opened up in 2009 and that increase could be even greater over the next few years, if new facilities are approved,” said the chief executive of Ubabef, Francisco Turra.

Brazil currently has 25 facilities approved by the Chinese authorities, which in the first two months of this year exported 32,900 tons of chicken meat, a year-on-year rise of 47.8 percent.

The Chinese mission will also visit three pork meat refrigeration units in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, owned by Encantado Pig Breeders Cooperative, Brasil Foods, and Alibem Comercial de Alimentos. (macauhub)