Brazil has declared itself free of FMD without vaccination since May 2024 and is waiting for formal recognition from the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH).
ndonesia has approved live cattle imports from Brazil, opening the door to the world’s largest beef exporter in a bid to boost domestic supply.
The move aims to expand the countries from which Indonesia can source live cattle, which currently includes Australia, New Zealand and the United States, as stipulated under Government Regulation No. 4/2016.
Deputy Agriculture Minister Sudaryono said the policy change was partly prompted by Brazil’s progress in controlling foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), which is a highly infectious disease causing fever and mouth blisters in animals with foot ruptures, such as cattle, swine, sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed ruminants.
“We’ve assessed and mitigated the risks that Brazil is a zone-based FMD country. They’re set to receive certification as FMD-free this year, so fears about importing from Brazil are no longer relevant,” said Sudaryono on Sunday, as quoted from CNBC Indonesia.
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Indonesia has never imported live cattle from Brazil, as previously the South American country was not yet free of the disease.
However, Brazil declared itself free of FMD without vaccination in May 2024 and is waiting for formal recognition from the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), which is expected in May 2025, according to Reuters.
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