The European Union announced that it will exclude Brazil from the list of countries authorized to export meat and other animal-origin products to the bloc starting on September 3, arguing that the guarantees presented by the country regarding the control of antimicrobial use as growth promoters in animal production are insufficient.
The measure, which still needs to be formalized in the EU Official Journal, could affect Brazilian exports of beef, poultry, eggs, honey, fish and live animals intended for food production. According to the European Commission, Brazil failed to sufficiently demonstrate that substances restricted by the bloc — such as virginiamycin, avoparcin, tylosin and bacitracin — are no longer used throughout the production chain destined for the European market.
The issue had already been closely followed by the Brazilian industry. In April, the government published a regulation banning part of the antimicrobials used as performance enhancers, although for Brussels the measures still fall short.
Brazil now has two possible paths to try to reverse the decision: expand legal restrictions on the remaining permitted products or implement stricter segregation and traceability systems capable of certifying that animals exported to the EU were not treated with those compounds. The second option is viewed by the sector as more complex and costly.
Brazil’s exclusion contrasts with the situation of other Mercosur countries such as Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, which will remain authorized to export normally to the European market.
The announcement came just days after the provisional entry into force of the Mercosur-EU agreement and amid strong political pressure from European farmers, particularly in France. However, Brussels clarified that the decision is based on sanitary criteria linked to the European “One Health” policy and not directly related to the trade agreement.
Source: Portal DBO
