MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Two more Uruguayan meatpacking plants cleared for shipments to China

According to Torre Ejecutiva, this achievement resulted from President Luis Lacalle Pou's trip to China in Nov. 2023

Chinese authorities have authorized additional Uruguayan slaughterhouses to ship beef and horsemeat from plants in Florida and Canelones to that country, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Fernando Mattos confirmed Friday.

“We received the official communication from our Embassy in China of the long-awaited news that the Halmon SA meat packing plant has been authorized to export beef to China,” he said. The official also recalled that the industrial plant's name had been rebranded from Frigorífico Florida after being closed for several years, causing the authorization to be delayed.

Mattos also highlighted the importance of this announcement ”because of the jobs that it generates in the department (province) of Florida”, said Fernando Mattos, Minister of Livestock. He also praised the joint work of both embassies for the nod from China's Food Safety Bureau of the General Administration of Customs (GACC).

According to Torre Ejecutiva, this achievement resulted from President Luis Lacalle Pou's trip to China in Nov. 2023, which led to subsequent actions that resulted in the authorizations after actions taken by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Agriculture and Livestock.

In addition, the Canelones-based Frigorífico Sarel SA has been cleared to export equine meat. This meat packing plant has slaughtered 1,838 equines this year, 18% of a total of 10,150, an operation developed in three establishments. This clearance means that all of Uruguay's horsemeat exporting plants are allowed into the Chinese market.

In an interview with China's news service Xinhua, former Uruguayan President Julio María Sanguinetti (1985-1990 and 1995-2000) said bilateral relationships between the two countries were “excellent.” At age 88, Sanguinetti remains a key figure in Uruguayan politics given his leading role in Lacalle Pou's ruling Multicolor coalition.

Sanguinetti also recalled establishing diplomatic ties between Montevideo and Beijing during his first presidency.

“The bilateral relationship has been excellent in every sense. There has been constant dialogue, a permanent presence in both countries, back and forth. That is very, very relevant,” he said.