After a two year ban enacted in December of 2012 upon the discovery of a case of mad cow disease in Parana, Brazil, China has reopened its beef market to Brazilian exports last month. After submitting all pertinent information about the 2012 incident to the World Organization for Animal Health and the General Administration of Quality Supervision (AQSIQ), Brazil has kept its status as being at negligible risk for mad cow disease (BSE), and after AQSIQ specialists went to Brazil to conduct inspections in 2014, China announced the lifting of the ban. Currently eight Brazilian beef plants in the center west and southern regions of the country are approved to export beef to China, and the Brazilian government states that 11 more plants will be approved soon. Prior to the 2012 ban, Brazil exported approximately 17,000 tons of beef annually to China. Today, China imports 300,000 tons annually and Brazil is targeting a sizeable share of the market.

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