EU Suspends Brazilian Meat and Egg Imports Over Antibiotic Concerns

The European Union has halted imports of Brazilian beef, poultry, eggs, honey and other animal products, citing concerns about the use of antibiotics and antimicrobial medicines in livestock farming. The measure took effect after a deadline set for Brazil expired.

The European Commission had announced in May that Brazil would be removed from the list of countries allowed to export certain animal products to the EU. Brussels said Brazil had not provided sufficient guarantees that its livestock production met European standards, including rules on antibiotics used as growth promoters and other restricted medicines.

The decision strikes at Brazil’s exporters. Brazil is the world’s largest beef exporter, and Brazilian government data show that it sent about 108,000 tonnes of beef to the EU last year, worth approximately $1 billion.

The Brazilian Association of Meat Exporting Industries, ABIEC, which provides technical support to the government in talks with the EU, expressed concern. It said Brazilian beef can still be sold in markets where exports remain allowed, but warned that Europe cannot simply be replaced by other destinations because markets seek different products and cuts of meat.

Brazil’s Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock sent a document to the Foreign Ministry calling the suspension a serious undermining of the trade benefits Brazil had expected. It also accused Brussels of ignoring the strictness of Brazil’s health-control system. The EU said its new list of countries complying with antimicrobial rules entered into force on Sept. 3, triggering the measure against Brazil.

The suspension comes at a sensitive point in EU relations with Mercosur, made up of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The EU-Mercosur trade agreement was signed in January but has not been fully implemented. Brazil is so far the only Mercosur member affected. Economist Robson Goncalves of the Getulio Vargas Foundation said Brussels could take further measures before the agreement fully enters into force, arguing that the suspension may form part of an effort to shield European agriculture from Mercosur competition.

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Brazilian beef can still be sold in markets where exports are allowed, but the European market cannot be automatically replaced by other destinations, since different markets demand different products and cuts of meat.