Government does not anticipate impact after suspension of Brazilian meat by the EU

Lisboa, 07 Sep 2026 – The Portuguese Government told Lusa that the suspension of the purchase of Brazilian animal products by the European Union (EU) should not disturb the supply of the Portuguese market or increases in consumer prices.

In response to Lusa, the Ministry of Agriculture stressed that “at this stage, there are no elements to prevent disturbances in the supply of the Portuguese market or increases in consumer prices”.

The Government also stressed the need to distinguish the weight of imports from Brazil from its representativeness in national consumption.

“ The data available for 2025 show that imports of beef from Brazil represent only 0.7% of national consumption, which, according to the INE data, corresponds to 208 thousand tons ", detailed the Ministry of Agriculture in writing.

As far as poultrymeat is concerned, in 2025, “imports from Portugal from Brazil totaled 269 tonnes, which represents less than 1% of national consumption,” the government indicated.

Stressing that “Portugal advocates the application of European rules”, the Ministry of Agriculture also recalled that “the competence of the European Commission for trade agreements, for checking rules, sanctions and lifting restrictions”.

Brussels suspended imports of products of animal origin from Brazil for violation of the rules on the use of antibiotics in livestock farming, prohibiting the use of antimicrobials to promote growth in animals and restricting the administration of certain critical antibiotics, reserved for human medicine.

To be able to export to the EU, third countries must prove that they meet the requirements, and the lifetime guarantee requires exporting countries to ensure that animals have not received certain antimicrobials throughout their lives.

The spokesman, stressing that the community executive is already focused on poultry and honey meat, said there were no guarantees of compliance for beef by Brazil.

Today, the European Commission has announced that it will disclose the results of the audit of poultry and honey production in Brazil, stating that, for cattle, the situation is much more complex.

“ At the moment, beef is out of the question because we demand guarantees for the entire life of the animal, which means that animals cannot receive antimicrobials throughout their lives — which is obviously shorter for poultry, for example, than for cattle,” said the spokesman for the Community Health Executive today.

Eva Hrncirova clarified that the audit completed last week in Brazil by European experts “only concerned honey and poultry”.

Asked about the publication of the findings of the Commission services’ audit – which were to assess on the ground whether the Brazilian authorities and producers manage to control and certify the use of antimicrobials in the poultry sector and beekeeping – the spokesman said it would take more time.

However, last week, the Brazilian government stated that there was no prior dialogue before restrictions on the entry of animal protein products and warned that it could apply reciprocity if there is no satisfactory solution.