UK withdraws reinforced control on Brazilian meat

After nine months since British technicians visited Brazil, the UK government has lifted reinforced controls on the purchase of Brazilian meat. This decision allows Brazilian health authorities to qualify companies authorized to sell meat to the United Kingdom through a pre-listing system, stated the Brazilian Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Agriculture.

The United Kingdom will now handle cases of avian influenza at the state level, restricting market closures to only those states with registered occurrences, instead of suspending purchases from the entire country, as occurred before.

In a joint statement, both Brazilian ministries confirmed that the British government's health audit mission acknowledged the resolution of sanitary and phytosanitary regulation issues, which were the basis for the enhanced controls on Brazilian meat.

The statement further emphasized “the excellence of Brazilian official health controls, ensuring the quality and safety of products consumed both domestically and by importing countries.”

The technical visit, held in October of the previous year, marked the first British audit mission conducted abroad post-Brexit. Ongoing discussions with the British government have taken place since the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union, with meetings held in Brasília and London.

The United Kingdom represents one of the main markets for Brazilian meat. In 2022 alone, Brazil exported $282.2 million worth of poultry meat and about $134.5 million worth of beef to the British market. Since Brexit, Brazilian agricultural exports to the UK have increased by 67 percent, reaching $1.8 billion last year.