Credit rules soon to tighten for meatpackers in Brazil

A new norm from Brazilian banks federation Febraban stipulates the country’s banks must comply with a protocol aimed at combating illegal deforestation when offering credit to meat-packing plants and slaughterhouses.

When granting credit, participating banks will have to request that meatpackers in the Amazon and Maranhão state implement a tracking and monitoring system in order to demonstrate that the cattle purchased from suppliers do not come from illegally deforested areas. The system must be in place by December 2025.

“This system should include information such as embargoes, considering overlaps with protected areas, the identification of deforestation areas, licenses, and the registration of the source properties. Social aspects—such as checking whether registered employers have submitted workers to slave-like conditions—have also been taken into account,” the federation stated.

To bring these measures into practice, the banks are required to devise compliance, incentive, and sanction plans. Performance indicators will also be published by the sector itself on a regular basis.

According to Issac Sidney, chair of the federation, banks are committed to developing an increasingly sustainable economy. “The sector is aware we must make strides in management and the mitigation of social, environmental, and climate risks in its deals with customers, and funnel more and more resources to transition to a green economy,” he said in a statement.