Agriculture secretary Sonny Perdue announced this week that the first shipment of fresh U.S. beef has arrived in Brazil following a 13-year hiatus. The entrance of American beef into the Brazilian market ushers in promising long-term economic opportunity for U.S. beef producers.

Consul general Ricardo Zuniga displays U.S. beef ready for Brazilian customers representing more than a decade of work.

“With Brazil’s large market reopened to the United States, U.S. beef exports are poised for new growth. I look forward to Brazilians getting the opportunity to eat delicious American beef, because once they taste it, they’ll want more of it.” Perdue said.

Brazil closed its market to imports of U.S. fresh beef in 2003 over concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Since then, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service and Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service have worked continuously with Brazilian officials to regain market access.

Additionally, USDA’s Food Safety & Inspection Service has provided documentation and information on the U.S. food safety requirements and standards for beef. Following numerous technical discussions and meetings, Brazil officially reopened the market on Aug. 1, 2016, based on the U.S.'s classification by the World Organization for Animal Health as a negligible-risk country for BSE.