The dairy industry association in Brazil, Viva Lácteos, forecasts that the value of Brazilian exports of dairy products to China may reach US$4.5 million a year by 2021, now that the Chinese authorities have deemed 24 Brazilian dairies fit to trade with, Reuters reports.
The news agency says the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture announced last week that the Chinese authorities had permitted the dairies to export cheese, butter, condensed milk, powdered milk and other products to China.
The report says shipments are due to begin this month.
It quotes Viva Lácteos chief Marcelo Martins as saying in an interview: “The authorisations were a decisive step to create demand for Brazilian dairy products, and nothing better than the opening of the Chinese market.”
Mr Martins said the Brazilian dairy industry would give priority to exporting cheese to China, which imported about 110,000 tonnes a year.
Brazil sold US$58.2 million worth of dairy products abroad last year, the main buyers being Argentina, Chile and Russia, Reuters says.
