Peru opens its market for Spanish pig meat

That means that Spanish processors are able to export raw, chilled or frozen cuts to Peru, provided that they have an accreditation of the Spanish inspection system. Peru’s National Agricultural Health Service (Senasa), acknowledged In a letter in November that standards in Spain met those required in Peru. The initial allowance is valid until April 2021, as up until now, Peruvian authorities have not been able to visit the plants in Spain for reasons of Covid-19.

Free from diseases like FMD and ASF

The health requirements include that the pork products must be obtained from animals born and raised in European Union countries that are free from reportable diseases like e.g. Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) and African Swine Fever (ASF).

In addition, the meat must has been processed in a slaughterhouse or primary processing plant following Hazard Analysis System and Critical Control Points (HACCP) standards and is authorised by both Spanish and Peruvian authorities.

General pork plant authorisation

The veterinary certificates for this agreements were already approved in 2018, the next steps included the general plant authorisation. The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) has now addressed Peru’s recognition requests.

That included complying with a questionnaire sent by Peruvian authorities, including extensive information about the official veterinary services and structure in Spain, a list of notifiable diseases, emergency plans and the food safety control system.

A so-called ‘recognition of equivalence’ means that the Peruvian state considers Spain’s health measures to be sufficient for health protection in its territory and, therefore, no further individual allowances would be necessary for each Spanish processor.

One of the largest pig producers in South America is Chile’s Agrosuper.

Much pork is imported from Chile

According to the Peruvian Association of Pork Producers (Asoporci), Peru imported 8,800 tonnes of pork in 2019. That was a drop of 22% compared to the year before. Chile was one of the main countries of origin.