Brazil’s Minerva Foods announced on Tuesday that it is suspending slaughter operations at four of its units in Brazil, and JBS SA said it is also considering halting activities at some of its Brazilian beef processing units due to the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak.
Minerva is granting collective holidays beginning March 23 to employees at its units in Janaúba, in Minas Gerais state, José Bonifácio, in São Paulo state, Mirassol D’Oeste and Paranatinga, both in Mato Grosso state. Activities will be suspended from 10 to 20 days, depending on the unit.
Minerva also said that part of its administrative staff of the corporate offices in the municipalities of Barretos and São Paulo, both in Brazil’s São Paulo state, are working from home.
Minerva said the decisions aim to collaborate with the authorities’ effort to combat the spread of the new coronavirus in the country.
“The decision is also in line with the worsening of the domestic and global scenarios, which includes falling demand in the food service segment and logistical limitations in many parts of the world,” the company said in a statement.
JBS said in a statement on Monday that it has been monitoring the effects of the coronavirus COVID-19 in the market and “evaluates the implementation of collective holidays exclusively in some of its bovine processing units in Brazil.”
Marfrig didn’t comment on whether it was considering suspending operations at some units.
Poultry and pork processor BRF said as of last week that it was operating normally and that it had established a committee with company’s executives and specialists in infectious diseases who have been following the developments of the coronavirus since the outbreak in China.