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New Zealand says it has not been notified by Chinese authorities about COVID-19 in its flesh | Instant News

November 15, 2020 NewsDesk

WELLINGTON, November 16 (Reuters) – New Zealand said on Monday it had not been informed of any issues with frozen meat exports after Chinese authorities said the coronavirus was found in its meat products.

The Chinese city of Jinan said over the weekend that it had found COVID-19 in beef and tripe, and on the packaging, from Brazil, Bolivia and New Zealand, while two other provincial capitals detected the virus on packaging in pork from Argentina. .

“New Zealand has not been officially notified by the Chinese authorities,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement.

“New Zealand officials are now working to ascertain the origin and veracity of this report.”

Authorities in Jinan, the capital of eastern China’s Shandong province, said the goods involved were imported by a unit of the Guotai International Group and Shanghai Zhongli Development Trade. They entered through the port in Shanghai, they said.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in an interview on state television TVNZ on Monday that she had been told that it was not New Zealand beef that had COVID-19 in it.

“We have been told it is Argentine beef, so we are just trying to find out what was reported there,” Ardern said.

China, the world’s biggest beef buyer, found the coronavirus last week on Argentine beef packaging in Shandong and Jiangsu, and on Brazilian beef packaging in Wuhan.

China has increased testing on frozen food after detecting the virus in imported products, triggering an import ban, although the World Health Organization says the risk of catching COVID-19 from frozen food is low. (Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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Brazil

Cenbank Brasil weighs on FX action to prevent ‘overhedge’ volatility – director | Instant News

November 6, 2020 NewsDesk

BRASILIA, Nov 6 (Reuters) – Brazil’s central bank is considering intervening in the foreign exchange market before the end of the year to minimize any potential disruption from anticipated outflows related to the bank’s hedging activity, a central bank director said on Friday.

Speaking at a live online forum hosted by Itau Macrovision, director of economic policy Fabio Kanczuk said officials were “in control” of the issue, in which banks must give up their so-called “overhedge” position on foreign equity investments.

Releasing this position before the end of the year is expected to prompt a hefty outflow. A trader at a large bank in Sao Paulo put the potential flow at $ 15- $ 17 billion.

“The market has to be big, big enough to withstand the very large (out) flows at the end of the year, and the central bank is thinking about alternatives how not to let these flows get in the way,” Kanczuk said.

“We are not sure the market will be able to absorb this, and we think we need to help,” he added.

The Brazilian real has been one of the world’s worst performing currencies this year, losing nearly 30% of its value against the dollar since January.

Kanczuk said the official rate cut had fallen to a current record low of 2.00%, but recently because of growing concerns over Brazil’s fiscal health.

He said Brazil’s fiscal situation has not been detached, nor are there inflation expectations, meaning the promise of the bank’s guidance to keep interest rates low for a long time remains in effect. Kanczuk added, he saw no reason to provide extra stimulation.

Regarding inflation, he gave an optimistic tone. The recent spike triggered by higher-than-expected food prices and is likely to continue for a few more months, but inflation will not be an issue next year or 2022, he said.

The recent spike has been temporary and shouldn’t impact policy. Policy makers are watching inflation developments but remain “very calm”, he said.

Figures on Friday showed that monthly inflation in October surged to 0.86%, the highest for any October since 2002, while the annual rate rose to 3.90%. (Reporting by Marcela Ayres and Jamie McGeever; Editing by Alison Williams)

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Food & Drink

Riverside County Offers Free Foods for Seniors, People with Disabilities – NBC Los Angeles | Instant News

April 30, 2020 NewsDesk

Riverside County officials on Wednesday shared a list of food sources for seniors and adults with disabilities who might be stuck at home or struggling to buy groceries because coronavirus pandemic.

Through the Riverside Regional Office on Aging, adults over 60 years old or those with disabilities have several options for taking free food or sending it to their doorstep.

“We have a number of programs, depending on the needs of our callers and nutritional risks. We will adjust registration to one or more of these important nutrition programs,” said Gary Robbins, Aging’s deputy director for programs and operations.

Robbins said food demand has tripled in recent weeks, and the department is on average calling nearly 1,200 calls per day.

Kim Tobin reports for NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21, 2020.

Elderly or disabled adults can call 800-510-2020, or visit www.rcAging.org to see if they qualify for the following resources:

Grab-and-go meals: Up to seven to two weeks of cooked and frozen food that can be taken.
Courtesy pantry: A two-week food supply is sent within five to seven days after being requested.
Food delivered at home: One or two weeks of food delivered without person-to-person contact for vulnerable adults.
Emergency food: Up to three days direct food is delivered to “fragile” adults and seniors, according to the department.

Local restaurants are also asked to send emails [email protected] if they are interested in participating in departmental programs.

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