Shares of Brazil’s JBS SA rose 7% in early morning trading on Wednesday after the world’s largest meatpacker reported strong first-quarter results in spite of headwinds faced by its large U.S. beef business.
(Adds details from earnings statement) SAO PAULO, May 14 (Reuters) - Brazil’s JBS SA , the world’s largest meat-packer, on Tuesday reported a net profit of 1.64 billion reais ($319.74 million) for the first quarter,
Tyson Foods surpassed Wall Street expectations for second-quarter profit on Monday, as it begins to reap the benefits of shutting some chicken processing plants to reduce costs.
Brazil declared itself as free of foot and mouth disease without vaccination, and will request World Organization for Animal Health to recognize that status as it seeks to open more markets for its meat exports.
Federal officials are seeking to verify the safety of milk and meat after confirming the H5N1 virus in nine states since late March. The public health risk is low, but is higher for those exposed to infected animals.
USDA said on Monday it is collecting samples of ground beef at retail stores in states with outbreaks of bird flu in dairy cows for testing but remains confident the meat supply is safe.
Colombia has restricted the import of beef and beef products coming from U.S. states where dairy cows have tested positive for H5N1 as of April 15, according to USDA.
USDA said this week cow-to-cow transmission is a factor in the spread of avian flu in dairy herds, but it still does not know exactly how the virus is being moved around.
