Ecuador: The Cow Lift - U.S. Live Cattle Shipments to Ecuador Resume
On May 20, Acting Minister of Agriculture Luis K. Valverde, accompanied by U.S. Ambassador Namm, FAS Attaché Beillard and APHIS Attaché Ball, received a chartered flight transporting 156 U.S. bulls and heifers at Latacunga airport valued at almost $700,000. This remarkable sale marks one of the first major exports of U.S. live cattle to South America since the 2003 occurrence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the United States. FAS and APHIS Quito supported the Ecuador Government’s purchase, including negotiations on the export protocol and FAS Quito staff traveling with two cattle buying missions. This sale far exceeded the earlier purchase estimate of $250,000 (50 animals).
Ecuador: The Cow Lift - U.S. Live Cattle Shipments to Ecuador Resume