Japan’s market opening for Brazil would initially include five states

Technical staff from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) visited Brazil last week to audit the country’s sanitary inspection system. The visit is considered a key step toward a possible opening of the Japanese market to Brazilian beef.

During the meeting, Japanese officials clarified that, if Brazil’s health system is approved, the potential market opening would not apply to the entire country, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke to Globo Rural. It would only apply to states that had already been recognized by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) as foot-and-mouth disease-free without vaccination prior to 2025: Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, Acre, and Rondônia.

Within the agribusiness sector, the expectation is that Japan’s market opening to these five states will be completed in 2025 or in the first quarter of 2026. One ace up Brazil’s sleeve is the rise in domestic beef prices in the Asian country. From a technical standpoint, a source noted that Brazil meets Japan’s requirements.