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First modification: 09/01/2026 - 03:48

The community bloc said “no” to imports of beef and poultry from Brazil due to non-compliance with its health standards on the use of antibiotics. The measure comes after European purchases of Brazilian beef increased 36% in 2025, to almost 120,000 tons.

As of Thursday, September 3, imports of beef and poultry from Brazil will not be welcomed in the 27 countries of the European Union (EU), after determining that the country does not offer sufficient guarantees regarding compliance with the bloc's health standards, particularly those related to the intensive use of antibiotics in livestock production.

The decision was announced by the European Commission, which noted that Brazil was removed in May from a list of countries that comply with community rules on the use of these medicines.

The measure also occurs at a time of pressure on the European livestock sector, after the signing of the trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and the recently added Bolivia.

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Brussels maintains that Brazil has not yet provided the necessary guarantees to demonstrate that its products meet European requirements.

The European Commission, however, called Brazil an important partner and assured that it is working with the country's authorities to resolve differences and gave hope that exports can resume once compliance with health standards is demonstrated.

Brazilian products in Europe

The suspension also includes Brazilian eggs and honey. In the case of poultry meat and honey, a European audit is ongoing and its results could allow imports to be authorized again in the coming weeks. For beef, the process could be prolonged due to the length of production cycles.

The measure affects a market in which Brazil has significantly increased its presence in recent years. According to data from the European Commission, imports of Brazilian beef, excluding fat, increased from 87,603 tons in 2024 to 119,779 tons in 2025.

The increase was 36.7% in a single year, equivalent to some 32,176 additional tons. In this way, Brazil consolidated itself as one of the main external suppliers of beef to the European market.

The Brazilian presence is also important in the poultry sector. In 2025, the European Union imported around 265,081 tons of meat and poultry products from Brazil, although this figure represented a drop of 7.6% compared to the 286,936 tons recorded in 2024. Even so, Brazil remained the main supplier of poultry products to the bloc outside the European Union.

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Together, European imports of Brazilian beef and poultry reached nearly 385,000 tons during 2025, adding 119,779 tons of beef and 265,081 tons of poultry products.

The importance of Brazil can also be observed when comparing its exports with the set of external suppliers to the EU. Brazil represented around 25.5% of the bloc's meat purchases from countries outside the European Union, only behind the United Kingdom, which is also a European country and has an advantage due to its territorial proximity.

It affects Brussels more than Brasilia

However, dependency is different from the Brazilian perspective. According to the figures used to measure the sector's foreign trade, around 4% of the meat that Brazil exports is destined for the European market, so the country has other international markets to place its production.

Brussels' decision also comes months after the provisional entry into force of the trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur, which began to be applied on May 1.

The pact seeks to reduce trade barriers between the two blocs, but has also generated concern among European producers, especially in sectors such as livestock, which demand greater guarantees on the sanitary and productive conditions of imports.

With information from Reuters and AFP.

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