Factbox-EU ban on animal products affects $1.8 billion in Brazilian exports
An EU ban on animal products from Brazil that took effect on Thursday affects Brazilian exports worth about $1.84 billion annually, mainly beef and poultry, as the bloc seeks guarantees that prohibited antimicrobial substances are not used in production.
While expectations for a near-term resolution remain low, an EU inspection of Brazil's poultry sector this week has offered some hope for that industry.
- Of the affected exports, beef accounted for $1.05 billion in 2025, while chicken meat totaled $763 million, according to Brazil's Agriculture Ministry.
- The EU, an important buyer of higher-value cuts, represented 5.86% of Brazil's beef export revenue last year and about 8% of its chicken export shipments.
- Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany are large buyers of Brazilian beef, while the Netherlands, Spain and Germany are key markets for chicken exports.
- The ban, announced in May and effective from Thursday, followed what the EU said was Brazil's failure to provide guarantees that antimicrobials prohibited by the EU are not used in production.
- Since the announcement, Brazil has stepped up talks with EU officials, but the European Commission has not indicated when the restriction could be lifted.
- As part of those negotiations, EU inspectors have spent recent days reviewing Brazil's poultry and honey production systems.
- The mission ends on Friday, but no immediate decisions are expected because inspectors must first prepare their findings, according to a European Commission spokesperson.
- Brazilian officials hoped for a faster solution for poultry exports because chickens have a production cycle of about 42 days, making it easier to demonstrate compliance than in the cattle sector, where animals typically take more than two years to reach market.
- Industry group ABPA, which represents poultry and pork producers, says Brazil's poultry industry fully complies with EU import requirements, although EU authorities say Brazil has not provided sufficient official guarantees.
- Beef lobby Abiec says all of its member companies authorized to export to the EU have adopted a private antimicrobial-control protocol incorporated into Brazil's official guarantees.
- The EU bans substances that may promote animal growth and prohibits the use in livestock production of antimicrobials reserved for human medicine.
- Experts said the measure was not triggered by irregularities found in Brazilian meat, but by EU concerns that Brazil's controls remain insufficient.
- Brazil is the world's largest exporter of beef and chicken and home to major meat processors including JBS, MBRF and Minerva.
(Reporting by Roberto Samora; Writing by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Jamie Freed)
