As the scandal deepened, Brazil's Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said the government had suspended exports from 21 meat processing units. An all-out ban on Brazilian meat exports would be a "disaster," Maggi added. China, which accounted for nearly one-third of the Brazilian meatpacking industry's US$13.9 billion in exports last year, suspended imports of all meat products from Brazil as a precautionary measure. The European Union suspended imports from four Brazilian meat processing facilities, ABPA said, citing the nation's agriculture ministry. Chile is also temporarily banning imports of all Brazilian meat products, the agriculture ministry said on Monday.

Source: Egypt Independent March 20, 2017 23:48 UTC