Paraguay: The industry & trade ministry (MIC) has fined local meatpacker Frigorífico Norte SA (Frigonorte) G$3.86bn (US$700,000) for irregularly importing 2,851 tonnes (t) of beef from Brazil. The fine comes after it was revealed that another meatpacker, Frigorífico Concepción, had been importing beef from Brazil without the necessary sanitary certificates with the apparent collusion of the Paraguayan authorities. The revelation produced a scandal given that Paraguay is classed as being free of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) while parts of Brazil are not. This led the likes of Russia, Chile, Israel, and the European Union (EU) to temporarily suspend imports of Paraguayan beef and
to the sacking of the head of Paraguay’s agriculture & livestock minister and the head of the national animal health service. Since then the MIC has issued fines to three other local meatpackers for the irregular import of Brazilian beef, with Frigonorte becoming the fourth firm to be fined.
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