SAO PAULO, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday that Uruguay had authorized Brazil to use the surplus from its beef export quota to China.
“I expressed my gratitude for the authorization granted to Brazil to use the surplus from Uruguay’s beef export quota to China,” Lula wrote on X after meeting with his Uruguayan counterpart, Yamandu Orsi, in New York.
Uruguay’s foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
China in January imposed an added 55% tariff on beef imports that exceed quota levels from key suppliers, including Brazil, in a move to protect its domestic cattle industry.
From November to June, Brazil had already shipped 98.5% of its 1.1 million metric ton quota, StoneX said in a report in July, adding the quota would be filled by August.
Brazil’s total beef export volumes are expected to drop 10% year-on-year in 2026, industry group Abiec estimated earlier this year, amid restrictions imposed by Beijing and a recent curb on Brazilian meat exports to the European Union.
(Reporting by Fernando Cardoso in Sao Paulo, additional reporting by Lucinda Elliott in Montevideo; Editing by Gabriel Araujo and Iñigo Alexander)
