China recognizes Brazil as foot-and-mouth disease-free

China has officially recognized Brazil as a country free of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), revoking a series of measures that had restricted the full export of Brazilian beef to the Asian nation.

The new determination overturns Chinese decisions issued in 2002, 2005, and 2009. The most recent of these recognized only the states of Santa Catarina, Acre, Espírito Santo, Goiás, the Federal District, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Sergipe, São Paulo, and the central-southern region of Pará as free of the disease. It also stated that Bahia, Tocantins, and Mato Grosso do Sul, except for designated monitoring zones, were free of foot-and-mouth disease.

The measure was announced one year after the Brazilian government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa), requested that Chinese authorities recognize the country as free of the disease without vaccination. This means that Brazil has effectively eliminated the circulation of the foot-and-mouth disease virus and no longer needs to vaccinate livestock to keep the disease under control.

Shortly before the request, in mid-May, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) declared Brazil free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination. The decision prompted the Brazilian Embassy in Beijing to formally request recognition from China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

In 2024, the Brazilian government had already received a Chinese technical mission to inspect the country’s sanitary controls related to beef production. Although the assessment was positive, Chinese customs authorities requested additional information.

The following year, Brazil submitted further technical data to China, detailing its eradication and surveillance programs.

Brazil accounts for the largest share of China’s beef imports and has been seeking ways to cope with safeguard measures imposed by Beijing on the commodity at the end of last year. The measures established maximum import quotas by country for the period from 2026 to 2028. During this period, all countries exporting beef to China will face annual import limits, and volumes exceeding those quotas will be subject to a 55% tariff.

For Brazil, the decision sets an annual quota equivalent to approximately 65% of the total volume exported by Brazilian meatpackers in 2025. According to the Brazilian Beef Exporters Association (Abiec), this could result in an estimated 10% reduction in the country’s overall beef exports.

The recognition of Brazil as free of the disease was announced on the eve of Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira’s visit to Beijing this week. The minister traveled to the Chinese capital to participate in the 5th Brazil-China Global Strategic Dialogue, a political consultation mechanism between the foreign ministers of both countries that has been held since 2014.

During the meeting, discussions focused on bilateral trade relations, particularly Brazil’s need to increase fertilizer imports. Brazil relies heavily on imported fertilizers, and China was its main supplier in 2025.

During previous visits to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, fertilizer supplies were also a key topic on the agenda, as instability in the sector caused by the war in Iran has raised concerns among farmers about planting the upcoming summer crop.

Source: Folha de S.Paulo

Sharing is caring!