The Brazilian government has reaffirmed its commitment to animal health. Like many other countries, Brazil is looking to cut public expenditure, however speaking at SIAV, the International Poultry and Pork Show, Agriculture Minister Katia Abreu said that the time was right to make a public announcement.
“If the ministry’s budget only ran to BRL1, that money would go to animal health,” she said.
Speaking to a group business, and political representatives, she continued that there was no point in having good logistics in the country if animal health could not be guaranteed, adding that expanding overseas sales of Brazilian poultry and meat were dependent on being granted health certificates.
Businesses need to work with the ministry in winning new markets, Abreu continued.
The commitment came days after the ministry announced that it had achieved savings of BRL69 million (US$21 million) in operational costs, and that all of these savings would be redirected to supporting animal health. It was also revealed that the ministry was considering the sale of certain assets belong to the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, EMBRAPA, to raise money.
