The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture has announced that the authorities in Beijing have given 24 Brazilian dairies permission to export milk powder, cheese and other products to China, Reuters reports.
The news agency says the ministry issued a written statement quoting Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias as saying Brazil produces 600,000 tonnes of milk a year and that China imports 800,000 tonnes a year.
The permission given to the 24 Brazilian dairies may allow them to export about US$4.5 million worth of products to China each year, Reuters says, citing a Brazilian dairy industry association, Viva Lácteos.
This month BRF SA, a big food company in Brazil, reportedly said it expected up to three of its slaughterhouses to obtain soon permits to export chicken and pork to China.