A Brazilian trade mission will visit China this month to promote Brazil’s beef exports. Some firms from that country last month received authorisation to sell there, Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua has reported.

The mission, including representatives from Brazil’s main beef producers, is co-ordinated by the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex) and will visit Shanghai and Beijing on June 9-12.

“We hope we can get back into the market and show the Chinese consumers all health requirements have been met and Brazilian meat is a distinguished, high-quality product,” Ana Paula Repezza, manager of Apex’s International Business Facilitation unit, told Xinhua.

“We will organise a series of meetings with Chinese meat consumers, buyers and associations straight away to re-establish this bond of trust and introduce Brazil as an alternative meat provider for the Chinese market,” she added.

China had imposed an embargo on beef imports from Brazil in December 2012 after a suspected case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy – more commonly known as BSE or “mad cow disease” – in the Brazilian state of Paraná. The ban was suspended in July 2014 and officially revoked in November.

China last month gave authorisation to eight Brazilian firms to export frozen beef, starting in June.