The measure takes effect on September 3. The EU bans the use of antimicrobials to promote animal growth or increase livestock yields, as well as the use in animals of antibiotics and other medicines intended for humans.

The EU said Brazil must ensure compliance with the bloc’s requirements on antimicrobial use throughout the full life cycle of the animals from which exported products are derived in order to be included on the list. In addition to meat, eggs, fish and honey could be affected.

The Brazilian government said it was surprised by the EU’s decision to remove Brazil from the list of countries authorized to export animal products for human consumption. In a joint statement, the ministries of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC), Agriculture, and Foreign Affairs said the country will promptly take the necessary steps to try to reverse the decision.

The ministries said the head of Brazil’s delegation to the European Union already has a meeting scheduled for Wednesday with European health authorities to seek explanations for the decision. “The Brazilian government will promptly take all necessary measures to reverse this decision, return to the list of authorized countries, and ensure the flow of sales of these products to the European market, to which it has exported for 40 years,” the ministries said in the statement.

Brazil’s removal from the list was approved after a vote by the European Commission’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed, which updated the countries authorized to export the products to the European bloc.

Exporters criticize measure

The Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA), which represents chicken exporters, said in a statement that the sector already complies with European legislation on antimicrobial use. “The Brazilian sector reinforces that the country has robust sanitary and production-control structures, with strict traceability protocols, veterinary monitoring and responsible use of medicines, in line with international benchmarks for animal health and food safety,” ABPA said.

The Brazilian Beef Exporters Association (Abiec) said in a statement that “any possible ban on exports will only occur if the guarantees and adjustments required by European authorities are not presented by the established date.”

The group said the sector has been working with the Ministry of Agriculture on protocols to meet the new requirements. A European mission is expected to visit Brazil in the second half of the year to conclude the technical process. Abiec also said Brazilian beef meets the sanitary and regulatory requirements of the main international markets and is currently exported to more than 170 countries.

Last year, Brazil exported $1.23 billion in beef and beef products and $1.18 billion in chicken and chicken products to the European Union, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s Agrostat platform show.

Welber Barral, a former foreign trade secretary, noted that Europe’s sanitary requirements are not new and should become more frequent with the Mercosur-EU agreement. He said Brazil was expected to provide the data requested by the EU to avoid a suspension of shipments.

“It is worth remembering that several of these issues related to the environment, animal welfare and health standards will become more recurrent, also because of the increase in Mercosur exports to Europe. So this constant vigilance will be normal from now on,” he said.

For Lygia Pimentel, CEO of Agrifatto, a consulting firm specializing in livestock, the EU measure is aimed at calming European cattle ranchers who are unhappy with the agreement with Mercosur. “Brazil is the world’s largest beef exporter. If our beef were dangerous, if it were chronically problematic, that certainly would have become clear by now and markets would already be suspending it,” she said.

She said antibiotics are used in Brazilian livestock in specific treatments, but not on a continuous basis. “A sick animal needs to be treated. What happens is that we always have to respect the withdrawal period [for the medicine] after it is applied so that the animal can be slaughtered,” she noted.

The EU’s revised list now includes 21 new countries.

(Cleyton Vilarino, with Bloomberg, contributed reporting.)