By Brazil Stock Guide – The European Union excluded Brazil from a list of countries authorized to export meat and other animal-origin products to the bloc from Sept. 3, citing concerns over guarantees related to antimicrobial use in livestock production.
The information was reported by G1, citing the European Union, Agence France-Presse and statements to the Portuguese news agency Lusa. The measure will take legal effect once the EU publishes the list in its official journal.
The list defines which countries meet the bloc’s sanitary rules and will be allowed to continue shipping animal products to Europe. According to the EU, Brazil was left out because it failed to provide sufficient assurances that antimicrobials are not used in ways that violate European standards. Other Mercosur countries, including Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, remain authorized.
Eva Hrncirova, the European Commission’s health spokeswoman, confirmed to Lusa that Brazil is not on the list and may stop “exporting to the EU goods such as cattle, horses, poultry, eggs, aquaculture, honey and casings.”
“To return to the list, Brazil must ensure compliance with the Union’s requirements on the use of antimicrobials throughout the entire life cycle of the animals from which the exported products originate,” Hrncirova said.
“As soon as compliance is demonstrated, the EU may authorize or resume exports,” she added, saying the bloc has been working with Brazilian authorities on the issue.
Brazil’s government said it was “surprised” by the country’s removal from the list. In a joint statement, the ministries of Agriculture, Foreign Trade and Foreign Affairs said they would seek to reverse the decision. The head of Brazil’s delegation to the European Union is scheduled to meet EU sanitary authorities on Wednesday (13) to discuss the matter.
In the 2024 list, Brazil was cleared to export beef, chicken, horse meat, casings, fish and honey to the European market.
Antimicrobials at the center of the dispute
The European Union bans antimicrobials that are also used to promote animal growth, according to Leonardo Munhoz, a doctor in agri-environmental law and lawyer at VBSO. The substances mentioned in the debate include virginiamycin, avoparcin, bacitracin, tylosin, spiramycin and avilamycin.
Antimicrobials are used to treat and prevent infections in animals. Some of them may also be used as growth promoters, a practice barred under EU rules.
In April, Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry issued a regulation prohibiting the import, production, sale and use of some antimicrobials used as performance enhancers, including avoparcin and virginiamycin.
To return to the EU list, Brazil has two options, according to Munhoz: legally restrict the remaining substances cited by the bloc or prove that meat exported to Europe does not contain them. The second route is harder to apply, he said, because it depends on traceability systems that are more costly and time-consuming.
Once Brazil proves that its livestock sector does not use the antimicrobials targeted by the EU, the country may be able to resume exports, even after September. Munhoz said the restrictions had been expected since 2019.
“It creates significant concern for agribusiness because the European Union is a strategic market for animal proteins and because these requirements may affect traceability, sanitary certification and export compliance,” Munhoz said.
The European Union is Brazil’s third-largest beef destination by export value, after China and the US, according to Agrostat, a system run by Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry. For meats overall, the bloc is Brazil’s second-largest market, behind China.
Industry groups push back
The Brazilian Beef Exporters Association, known as Abiec, said Brazil remains “fully authorized to export beef to the European market” and that any potential barrier would only occur if the guarantees and adjustments requested by European authorities are not submitted by the deadline.
“The private sector has been working in partnership with the Agriculture Ministry on protocols aimed at meeting the new European requirements […]. There is also a European mission expected in Brazil in the second half of the year to advance and conclude this technical process,” Abiec said.
“Brazilian beef meets the sanitary and regulatory requirements of the main international markets, with strict official controls, traceability systems and globally recognized protocols. Brazil currently exports to more than 170 countries, supported by one of the world’s most robust inspection and agricultural defense systems,” the association said.
The Brazilian Animal Protein Association, or ABPA, said that, with government support, it “will provide all necessary clarifications to the European Union.”
“It is important to emphasize: Brazil fully complies with all European Union requirements, including regulations on antimicrobials. That is what Brazil will demonstrate to European sanitary authorities,” ABPA said.
“The Brazilian sector reinforces that the country has robust sanitary and production-control structures, with strict traceability protocols, veterinary monitoring and responsible use of medicines, in line with international references for animal health and food safety,” the group added.
Honey exporters say they were caught off guard
Renato Azevedo, president of the Brazilian Honey Exporters Association, known as Abemel, told G1 that the news “caught the sector by surprise.”
“I understand that this is political, given that there is strong pressure from Europeans to block Brazilian products after the Mercosur agreement,” Azevedo said.
“For honey, it is completely unreasonable to talk about a risk of excessive antibiotic use, considering that Brazil is the world’s leading producer of organic honey,” he added.
The Brazilian Fish Industries Association, Abepesca, said it has not exported to the EU since 2016.
EU says decision is sanitary, not trade-related
Munhoz said Tuesday’s (12) measure is not related to the Mercosur-European Union agreement. The list is a sanitary regulation, meaning a requirement any country may adopt to ensure food safety for consumers.
“Our farmers follow some of the strictest health and antimicrobial standards in the world. Therefore, it is legitimate that imported products be subject to the same requirements. The decision taken today shows that the European control system works,” EU Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen said.
No publicly listed companies were directly cited in the original report, so no stock tickers were included.
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