Brazil Poultry Exporters Await EU Decision After Antimicrobial-Controls Review

ABPA says the industry is ready to resume shipments once authorisation is published, but a favourable technical assessment has not yet reopened trade.

Brazil’s poultry industry is awaiting a European Union decision on restoring market access after inspections of antimicrobial-use controls, with industry association ABPA saying exporters are prepared to restart shipments immediately after formal authorisation is published.

Speaking at SIAL Paris on October 18, ABPA president Ricardo Santin said the industry expected a technically based decision following a recent European inspection. According to Globo Rural, Santin argued that the poultry sector had demonstrated compliance with the bloc’s antimicrobial-use requirements.

However, technical findings and industry confidence do not themselves authorise exports to resume. EU approval procedures remain the decisive outstanding step.

Antimicrobial guarantees are central to the suspension

The EU suspension took effect on September 3 after Brazil failed to provide sufficient guarantees that animal production met the bloc’s requirements on prohibited antimicrobial substances. Reuters reported at the time that the measures affected approximately US$1.84 billion in annual Brazilian exports, mainly beef and poultry.

The issue concerns regulatory guarantees over antimicrobial use in production. It should not be described as a newly announced poultry disease ban or a finding that all Brazilian poultry products contain prohibited residues. Reuters distinguished the EU’s concerns about official guarantees from ABPA’s position that the poultry industry complies with import requirements.

Subsequent European Commission audit findings indicated that Brazil’s controls could meet EU requirements for poultry meat and honey, creating a route towards restoring those exports. Earlier reporting nevertheless stressed that the audit did not independently lift the suspension.

October and November meetings are the next decision points

According to Globo Rural, the matter is expected to proceed through the EU Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed, known as Scopaff. The committee is scheduled to meet on October 20–21 and again in November.

The reported expectation is that the technical report could be considered at the October meeting, followed by a vote at the subsequent meeting. Augusto Billi, Brazil’s secretary for trade and international relations, said publication of a decision by early December was the more likely timetable. This remains an expectation rather than a confirmed reopening date.

Exporters say supply arrangements remain in place

Santin said poultry exporters had not dismantled production arrangements serving European customers during the suspension. Instead, output could be directed to alternative markets while authorisation remained pending.

He said the industry would be ready to ship the day after a reopening decision was published and that buyers had already indicated interest in Brazilian chicken. Those statements represent ABPA’s assessment of commercial readiness, not evidence that new shipments have been cleared.

According to Santin, integrated arrangements between exporting companies and poultry farmers account for 98% of Brazilian chicken production and all production destined for the EU. The figures underline the importance of coordinated compliance across farms and exporters in maintaining access to regulated markets.

Regulatory approval remains the commercial trigger

For poultry businesses, the immediate issue is the timing and scope of a formal EU decision. The available reporting supports progress towards reopening poultry and honey trade; it does not establish that the broader suspension affecting other animal-product categories has been lifted.

The next material development will be a published authorisation specifying which products can resume entry and under what conditions.