Nine companies from Brazil have received authorisation to export frozen beef and chicken to China. The approval comes under one of 35 agreements signed by representatives from both countries, Brazilian media reported.

Eight exporters of beef have been allowed to export to China, but will still require a sanitary certificate from the Chinese authorities.

The Brazilian beef plants approved for export to China include five from JBS SA, two from Marfrig SA and one from Minerva SA, said Fernando Sampaio, director of the Brazilian beef exporters’ association.

The exports should start in June, Mr Sampaio told Reuters on Wednesday.

The Chinese embargo on beef from Brazil took effect 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 import ban was suspended in July 2014 and officially revoked in November.

The latest agreement also allows the Big Frango company – one of the largest groups operating in the poultry sector in southern Brazil – to export chicken meat to China.

China and Brazil announced on Tuesday a multibillion-U.S. dollar series of trade and investment deals, as Beijing looks to invest up to US$53 billion in South America’s largest economy.