Brazil not pleased with Argentina's decision on pork imports
24.04.2012
Brazil has criticised Argentina's decision to restrict the import of Brazilian pork, threatening to also put in place the same measures in response to Argentina.
Brazil is the fourth largest producer and exporter of pork in the world. Nine percent of Brazil's pork exports went to Argentina before the imposition of the restrictions.
Brazil's Agriculture Minister Mendes Ribeiro said that if the restrictions, announced in February, remained in place, Brazil might take similar measures against Argentine exports.
According to the minister, 3,000 tons of Brazilian pork are still held up at the border due to the restrictions.
At the moment negotiations are underway with meetings scheduled between Brazil's ambassador Enio Cordeiro and Argentina's Agriculture Minister Norberto Yauhar.
"Our pork shipments need to be released, or we will start making it harder for Argentine products to enter Brazil and that's not good for either Brazil or Argentina, and it is not what President Dilma Rousseff wants," Ribeiro said.
