The Interstate Tobacco Industry Union (SindiTabaco) hosted today, in Santa Cruz do Sul (RS), a meeting to formalize the end of the pre-inspection of tobacco, harvest 2023/24, one of the requirements of the bilateral trade protocol between Brazil- China. The meeting took place in a hybrid format, with the virtual presence of technicians from the General Customs Administration of the Republic of China (GACC) and the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture (Mapa) and the Brazilian National Phytosanitary Protection Organization (ONPF), Pedro Carneiro Abreu .
Also participating in the event were the superintendent of the Ministry of Agriculture in Rio Grande do Sul, José Cleber de Souza; the president of SindiTabaco, Iro Schünke; the head of the Inspection Service of the Ministry of Agriculture RS, Emerson Nunes Costa; members of the RS Ministry of Agriculture, Roque Danieli, Alan Erig and Carlos Wolmann, as well as representatives of the body in SC and PR; the president of China Tobacco International of Brazil (CTIB), Zhou Xinghua; the technical manager of the Central Analytical Laboratory at the University of Santa Cruz do Sul (Unisc), Adriana Dupont Schneider; representatives of the State Supervisory Bodies of PR and SC; Zhang Nan Zhengrong, China Leaf Company Delegation Leader; as well as representatives of companies supplying tobacco to China.
“This is a fundamental moment to comply with the protocol. The collections were carried out very fruitfully and with great joy I inform you that no pests were found in the samples collected. Once again, the quality of Brazilian tobacco was proven. China is one of our largest tobacco importers and this partnership is essential for maintaining business between our countries. We are sure that we will continue to evolve this relationship”, commented Pedro Carneiro Abreu, from the Ministry of Agriculture in Brasília.
José Cleber de Souza, superintendent of the RS Ministry of Agriculture, reinforced the importance of the results. “Our participation is to represent this commitment, which also belongs to Minister Carlos Fávaro, and to recognize this activity that is very relevant for the entire country. In our understanding, our responsibility towards the Chinese supervisory bodies is expressed here,” he commented.
As has happened in recent years, in agreement with GACC, the Ministry of Agriculture was responsible for collecting samples of processed tobacco and sending them to the Analytical Center of the University of Santa Cruz do Sul (Unisc) for laboratory tests to prove the product's phytosanitary status. before boarding. Roque Danieli, tax auditor and head of the Input and Plant Health Inspection Service of the Ministry of Agriculture in RS, spoke about the pre-inspection activities.
“During these 23 days that we worked together with GACC representatives, in virtual format, it was possible to attest to the quality of the 2023/2024 harvest, and demonstrate that in the field, the 2024/25 harvest is already being cultivated with the necessary care so to meet all requirements present in the protocol. The integrated production of companies means that the tobacco sector uses the least pesticides in the field, as a result of constant training of agricultural technicians. We hope that the presentation of the work is satisfactory and we should send the final report to Brasília next week so that it can be forwarded to GACC”, commented Danieli to the group.
Zhang Nan Zhengrong, Leader of the Chinese Leaf Company Delegation, presented the pre-inspection report to those present, together with the technical manager of the Unisc Analytical Central Laboratory, professor Adriana Dupont Schneider. She detailed the analyzes carried out. “This year we had a total of 54 batches analyzed with samples collected from eight companies. There were 21 days of activities in the laboratory that certified phytosanitary safety for the nine quarantine pests provided for in the agreement, six types of insects, two weeds and the fungus known as blue mold. All results were negative for the pests that are part of the agreement between Brazil and China”, said Schneider.
The GACC representative demonstrated her satisfaction with the final result of the pre-inspection and thanked those involved, signaling that shipments should be released as soon as possible. The president of CTIB, Zhou Xinghua, emphasized the good results presented.
The president of SindiTabaco, Iro Schünke, reinforced the importance of China for the Brazilian tobacco sector. “Tobacco is a much criticized crop, but it has been defended very vigorously by the Ministry of Agriculture. And this has a lot to do with the economic and social importance of tobacco for the country, especially in the Southern Region. China is our second largest importer, behind only Belgium, taking significant volumes of our product annually. And we need to make a special mention here of the tobacco producers who have, together with the field teams, done the necessary work at the base to meet the necessary requirements that have kept Brazil as the largest tobacco exporter for more than 30 years”, he highlighted Schünke.
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