
Saudi Arabia, Chile to resume poultry imports from Brazil, memos say
Chile, which had also imposed trade restrictions after the outbreak, has also agreed to resume buying Brazilian poultry products produced after August 9, according to a separate document sent from Chile to Brazilian authorities.
Chile will be open to importing Brazilian fertile eggs, one-day chicks, fresh chicken and processed products, according to the document, which was issued on Thursday following a visit by Chilean officials to Brazil last week.
The document also says that Chilean authorities recognize Rio Grande do Sul state as free of Newcastle disease, which is a highly contagious and viral disease affecting birds, like avian flu.
Earlier in the day, executives at Brazilian food processor BRF (BRFS3.SA), opens new tab welcomed the end of Saudi Arabia's ban and the potential easing of Chile's trade restrictions at a press conference.
BRF on Thursday reported strong second-quarter results, but trade bans did affect the company's poultry exports and the quarterly results, managers said.
Brazilian companies had faced a number of regional and countrywide trade bans after the country's first-ever bird flu outbreak on a commercial farm, which were gradually lifted.
Large food importers like China have not resumed buying Brazilian poultry.
(This story has been refiled to fix headline to say 'memos' in the plural)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Oil ticks down ahead of Trump-Putin summit in Alaska
HOUSTON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Oil prices eased on Friday as traders awaited talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, which could lead to an easing of the sanctions imposed on Moscow over the war in Ukraine. Brent crude futures were down 38 cents, or 0.6%, at $66.45 a barrel 1141 a.m. ET (1541 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were 49 cents, or 0.8%, lower at $63.47. At Friday's meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska, a ceasefire in Ukraine is at the top of the agenda. Trump has said he believes Russia is prepared to end the war, but he has also threatened to impose secondary sanctions on countries that buy Moscow's oil if there is no progress with peace talks. Putin is expected to arrive in Anchorage at 11 a.m. local time (1900 GMT). Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia expects the talks will bring results, Russia's Interfax news agency reported on Friday. "President Trump will likely threaten further tariff pressure on India and possibly China as far as oil imports from Russia if the meeting stalemates, which is keeping a nervous trade to crude," said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial. "If a ceasefire announcement is made, it will be taken as a negative to crude near-term," he added. For the week, WTI is set to drop 0.7%, while Brent is on track for a 0.2% gain. Weaker economic data from China, meanwhile, raised concerns over fuel demand. Chinese government data showed factory output growth slumped to an eight-month low and retail sales growth expanded at its slowest pace since December, weighing on sentiment despite stronger oil throughput in the world's second-largest crude user. Throughput at Chinese refineries rose 8.9% year-on-year in July, but that was down from June levels, which were the highest since September 2023. Despite the increase, China's oil product exports last month were also up from a year ago, suggesting lower domestic fuel demand. Forecasts of a growing oil market surplus also weighed on sentiment, as did the prospect of higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates. Bank of America analysts said on Thursday that they were widening their forecast for the oil market surplus, citing growing supplies from the OPEC+ producer group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other allies. The analysts now project an average surplus of 890,000 barrels per day from July 2025 through June 2026. That forecast follows this week's International Energy Agency predictions saying the oil market looks "bloated" after the latest increases to OPEC+ output.


Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Chinese state media calls U.S. a 'surveillance empire' over trackers in chip shipments
BEIJING, Aug 15 (Reuters) - The United States' practice of installing location trackers in chip shipments at risk of diversion to China reflects the "instincts of a surveillance empire," China's state-run media outlet Xinhua said in a commentary published on Friday. Reuters reported earlier this week that U.S. authorities had secretly placed location tracking devices in targeted shipments of advanced chips to detect diversions to China, which is under U.S. curbs for advanced chip exports. The Xinhua commentary, titled "America turns chip trade into a surveillance game," cited "reports" that Washington had embedded such trackers, accusing the United States of running "the world's most sprawling intelligence apparatus". The U.S. government has in the past few years tightened restrictions on the exports of advanced chips as well as related technology and equipments to China, as the two superpowers vie for technological dominance. The Chinese commentary follows longstanding accusations from Washington and its Western allies that China could use some exported products, from telecommunications equipment to vehicles, for surveillance, posing potential security risks. In 2022, the Biden administration banned the sale and import of new telecommunications equipment from several Chinese firms, including Huawei, citing national security concerns. In January, it intensified scrutiny by targeting China-made cars and trucks. In its commentary, Xinhua accused the U.S. government of seeing its trading partners as "rivals to be tripped up or taken down," adding that "if U.S. chips are seen as Trojan horses for surveillance, customers will look elsewhere." China's cyberspace watchdog last month said it had asked U.S. chipmaker Nvidia to explain whether its H20 chips had any backdoor security risks - a hidden method of bypassing normal authentication or security controls. Chinese authorities have also cautioned domestic tech firms over their use of H20 chips, Reuters recently reported.


Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Banco do Brasil facing record agribusiness default levels, CEO says
SAO PAULO, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Banco do Brasil ( opens new tab is facing the highest default level ever recorded in its agribusiness loan portfolio, opens new tab, CEO Tarciana Medeiros said on Friday, adding that the deterioration had not been anticipated even in the most pessimistic forecasts. The state-run lender on Thursday reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter results, opens new tab and announced a sharp cut to its full-year outlook, following an already challenging, opens new tab first quarter marked by high delinquency in the agribusiness segment. Most of the defaults stem from soybean, corn, and cattle producers in Brazil's center-west and southern regions, Medeiros said during a call with analysts. "We have a portfolio of over 600,000 clients, of which 20,000 are in default. And 74% of them had never been in default until December 2023," she said. Many farmers in Brazil - a top global supplier of grains, coffee, meat, cotton and sugar - have struggled in recent years with bad weather, high interest rates, opens new tab and elevated input costs, leading to an increase in the number of bankruptcy filings. Banco do Brasil reported a 90-day default ratio of 3.49% in the sector in the April-to-June period, up from 3.04% in the previous quarter and 1.32% a year earlier. The bank, long seen as a pillar of farm credit in the South American agricultural powerhouse, expects the sector to continue to hurt its results in the very short term, Medeiros said. She pointed to a "still stressed" third quarter and said the lender did not want market participants to have unrealistic expectations, as it has debt from the 2024/25 season maturing through September. The bank hopes that favorable weather conditions, forecasts for a bumper 2025/26 grain crop and improving commodity prices will help lower delinquency in agribusiness in the new season. Banco do Brasil expects some improvement in its overall results from the fourth quarter onwards, driven by net interest income growth. Its shares fell as much as 4% in early Sao Paulo trading, before reversing course to trade up 1%. They had plunged more than 30% since the weaker-than-expected first quarter results and are still down 13% year-to-date. "Certainly a weak quarter, but somewhat expected," analysts at Itau BBA said in a note to clients. "We remain cautious, looking for more visibility on the still-worsening credit quality trends, but do not expect a major negative reaction," they added. ($1 = 5.3934 reais)