Brazil's Beef Exporters Warn EU Market Has No Ready Substitute
Brazil's beef exporters' association ABIEC has declared the European Union an irreplaceable strategic market, as Brazilian industry and government work to restore exports suspended by Brussels in May 2025 over antimicrobial compliance failures.
Written by James Carter
(1h ago)
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What happened?
ABIEC issued a statement Wednesday declaring the EU an irreplaceable strategic market for Brazilian beef after the bloc removed Brazil from its approved exporters list in May 2025 over antimicrobial compliance failures.
Why it matters
Because different destinations require different cuts and products, the industry body says no alternative market can automatically compensate for the loss of European trade, underscoring the severity of the suspension.
Brazil's beef industry has warned that the European Union cannot be replaced as an export destination, following the bloc's decision in May 2025 to remove Brazil from its list of approved beef-exporting countries. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Associação Brasileira das Indústrias Exportadoras de Carnes (ABIEC) said the EU is a strategic market for Brazil "particularly for the high value added paid for beef and for the specific profile of cuts traded", stressing that there is no automatic substitute because different destinations demand different products and different cuts.
The suspension followed Brazil's failure to furnish European authorities, within the required timeframe, with official guarantees on the use of antimicrobial substances in animal production. The EU's prohibition on the use of antimicrobials in animal farming was adopted in 2023; it was not until May this year, however, that the bloc formally excluded Brazil from its roster of eligible exporters.
Protocol and official guarantees
ABIEC said official guarantees from Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA) had already been submitted to European authorities, and that the association was continuing to provide technical support to help restore commercial flows "in the shortest possible time". MAPA is described in the statement as the authority responsible for conducting negotiations with European counterparts.
Working alongside ABCAR (Associação Brasileira das Certificadoras por Auditoria e Rastreabilidade) and the CNA (Confederação da Agricultura e Pecuária do Brasil), ABIEC said it had established a private protocol to govern the control of antimicrobial use across the supply chain. The association reported that all of its member companies holding European Union market authorisation had adhered to the protocol, representing 100 per cent compliance among eligible exporters.
ABIEC added that it had been co-operating with all links in the production chain and offering full technical support to MAPA since the European antimicrobial requirements were first communicated.
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Source: CNN Brasil