The Dominican Republic has authorized 55 Brazilian plants to export pork and beef to the country, as reported by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa).
The plants are located in Santa Catarina, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Acre, and Rondônia, states with the international certification of a foot-and-mouth disease-free zone without vaccination from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
According to the Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, this is the first time that Paraná has received approval from the Dominican Republic, which requires the foot-and-mouth disease-free certificate.
Among the authorized plants, 36 were approved to export pork (34 slaughterhouses and two processing units). According to the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA), they joined another four units already approved for the market in the first half of August, totaling 40 plants authorized to ship products to the Dominican market.
The Dominican Republic should import approximately 130 thousand tons of animal protein this year. Currently, 85% of this volume comes from the United States, with the remainder from the United Kingdom and Canada.
“The expansion of plants that can export to the Dominican Republic is an important recognition of the quality and criteria of the Brazilian system, as well as an opportunity for an increase in the export agenda of the sector. We expect to see reflections of these approvals in the shipment volumes in 2024,” said ABPA President Ricardo Santin, in a statement.