Argentina exports rejected by China, Bulgaria

DW Español reported on May 21 that Argentina’s agro-food controls were facing criticism after China rejected a beef shipment and Bulgaria flagged pesticide residues in a sunflower cargo from Argentina. The report linked those cases to broader questions about the capacity of Argentina’s sanitary and phytosanitary controls. Argentina’s export oversight sits with SENASA, the national food safety and animal and plant health agency. SENASA has also been dealing since April with the first confirmed cases of classical scrapie in imported sheep, a development that has forced new export-certificate reviews. ### Which shipments were rejected, and by whom? China rejected a shipment of Argentine beef after detecting chloramphenicol, a banned antibiotic, according to multiple local reports cited in recent coverage of the case. One account said the affected cargo weighed 22 tons and came from the Buenos Aires province plant ArreBeef, with China’s customs action dated March 19. Bulgaria’s first tested shipment of sunflower seeds from Argentina failed laboratory checks in early March, according to trade and Bulgarian media reports. The cargo showed pesticide residues above EU limits for malathion and deltamethrin, while Bulgarian producers had already called for tighter controls over the imports. ### Why did those cases raise questions about Argentina’s controls? (noticiasambientales.com) SENASA says it is responsible for animal health, plant health and food safety in Argentina, including export certification and sanitary controls. The agency also maintains public systems for tracking export-related residue and contaminant detections, a sign that foreign findings can trigger domestic follow-up. The criticism reported by DW Español appears to rest on the fact that the two rejections involved different parts of the export system — meat and oilseeds — but both pointed to failures detected abroad rather than in Argentina. (ukragroconsult.com) That is an inference from the reported cases, not a formal finding by Argentine authorities. (argentina.gob.ar) ### What is the sheep disease case, exactly? SENASA said on April 11 that Argentina had confirmed classical scrapie for the first time in imported breeding sheep in Santa Fe and Entre Ríos. The agency said three sheep had died naturally without associated symptoms, that screening was first done by ELISA, and that a reference laboratory in Spain confirmed the diagnosis by Western Blot. (noticiasambientales.com) The infected sheep had been imported from Paraguay in 2021 and 2022 and had passed post-entry controls, SENASA said. After the detection, the agency said it restricted movements at the affected farms, intensified surveillance and notified both the World Organisation for Animal Health and Paraguay’s SENACSA. ### How did China respond to the scrapie finding? (argentina.gob.ar) China’s General Administration of Customs and Ministry of Agriculture said in a joint notice published on April 29 that they were banning direct or indirect imports of sheep and related products from Argentina. The notice said the measure followed Argentina’s report to the World Organisation for Animal Health of a scrapie outbreak and took effect immediately. (argentina.gob.ar) That Chinese action was separate from the beef case. The sheep-product ban was tied to scrapie, while the beef rejection was tied to chloramphenicol residues in a specific shipment, according to the available reports. ### What has Argentina said it is doing next? SENASA said on April 11 that it was adapting export certificates to preserve international markets and avoid shipment disruptions after the scrapie confirmation. (customs.gov.cn) The agency said the review would take account of World Organisation for Animal Health recommendations for exports of ovine and caprine goods from countries with a changed sanitary status. The same SENASA statement said Argentina would seek to maintain exports of products it described as safe under appropriate sanitary conditions, including embryos, hides, gelatin, collagen, tallow, wool and sheep fiber. Any further market response will likely depend on importing countries’ own sanitary authorities and on the certificate changes SENASA said it was preparing. (argentina.gob.ar)