Bolivia could expand its beef export capacity to China, Chile, Peru and Central America in the coming months, according to Ronny Salvatierra, head of the National Service of Agricultural Health and Food Safety (Senasag).
The official said that the audits carried out by health authorities of the People’s Republic of China on the new Frigosi meatpacking plant yielded a favorable result.
According to what he explained, the inspection was carried out remotely by the General Administration of Customs of China and concluded with a positive preliminary report, after verifying compliance with the requirements demanded by the current health protocol for the export of beef.
“A very good preliminary report was issued for the authorization of this meatpacking plant, which in the very near future will be joining the meat exports to China,” Salvatierra noted.
The authority indicated that, although China does not set a fixed deadline for concluding the process, the authorities of the Asian country preliminarily communicated that the official report could be issued in approximately 30 days, a necessary step to move forward with the final authorization.
In addition to the Chinese market, Salvatierra reported that Chile’s Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) is also evaluating Bolivian establishments. It expects to issue an official report in approximately 40 days, as part of the sanitary review process.
Senasag highlighted that the market opening strategy continues to advance with other countries. In this context, it reported ongoing negotiations with El Salvador and the Dominican Republic, while in the pork sector, progress is being made to expand exports to Peru.
The opening of new meat processing plants and the diversification of export destinations are considered key factors in strengthening the Bolivian meat supply chain. This will also help increase foreign sales and create greater opportunities for livestock producers and meat processing plants.
Strengthening access to international markets also helps boost infrastructure investment, as well as raise sanitary standards and improve the competitiveness of the Bolivian meat sector in foreign trade.
