The Brazilian Agriculture Ministry has said the Chinese authorities have given another 25 Brazilian slaughterhouses permission to export their output to China, meaning 89 Brazilian slaughterhouses now have such permission, Reuters reports.

The news agency, citing the ministry, says the 25 slaughterhouses newly granted permission comprise 17 that produce beef, six that produce poultry flesh, one that produces pork and one that produces donkey meat.

The report quotes an official of the ministry, Orlando Ribeiro, as saying the government would like even more Brazilian slaughterhouses to be permitted to export to China.

Mr Ribeiro said the government might be able to speed up the process of obtaining permission if the Chinese authorities agreed to accept Brazilian recommendations about which slaughterhouses are suitable as exporters.

China buys more of the beef, chicken and pork that Brazil exports than any other country, and demand in China for Brazilian pork has surged since the outbreak of African swine fever there last year, Reuters says.