The Government reported this Thursday that Uruguay, after 15 years of efforts, reopened the market of this Muslim country to export meat that is produced in compliance with the halal rite required by that religion.
The National Meat Institute (INAC) of Uruguay reported this Thursday, June 6, that, after 15 years of non-existent shipments, the reopening of the Malaysian market for the export of meat was completed with the halal religious ritual process carried out in Uruguay. both beef and sheep.
As indicated, the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, Fernando Mattos, accompanied by the President of INAC, Conrado Ferber, and the Manager of Market Access of INAC, Álvaro Pereira, made an official visit to Malaysia in the last three days.
They held working meetings with the Deputy Prime Minister and the President of the Halal Council, Dato' Seri Ahmad Zahid bin Hamidi; with Plantations and Raw Materials Minister Datuk Seri Johari bin Abdul Ghani; and with Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Haji Mohamad bin Sabu.
The result of this mission and the joint work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the reopening of the Malaysian market for Uruguayan halal beef and sheep.
In the coming days, the technical services will agree on the health and religious details necessary for the start of the commercial flow.
The reopening of the market, it was added in a statement, is a consequence of efforts deployed by the MGAP, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the INAC during the last year, "which made it possible to generate the necessary confidence for Uruguay to once again be included in one of the most demanding halal markets in the world, after 15 years of absence".
Malaysia and Uruguay reaffirmed their commitment to work together to position Uruguayan meat in Southeast Asia, thus advancing in the realization of one of the objectives of the INAC strategic plan regarding market access.
Added to this important achievement, it was noted, were the efforts carried out in order to facilitate Uruguayan exports of wood to this destination, through the elimination of the double phytosanitary requirement.
In terms of cooperation, Uruguay and Malaysia will begin the negotiation of a memorandum of understanding to coordinate different aspects related to livestock production, through the export of genetic material, training on nutrition techniques, management and traceability systems.
Other areas of future commercial interest addressed during the visit relate to crops such as corn, soybeans, wheat, rice and rapeseed, products in which Malaysia has great import interest.
Finally, and in relation to the Malaysian halal dairy market, in which Uruguay has maintained an active commercial flow since 2019, it was agreed to maintain the current authorization conditions for Uruguayan industrial plants.
In this regard, a technical visit will be carried out in the coming months, it was announced by the national meat institute.
