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China lifts Brazil ban
China cleared Brazilian beef of foot-and-mouth disease by recognizing Brazil as free of the disease and lifting related import restrictions on Brazilian livestock products, according to China’s customs authority announcement made Tuesday in Beijing on June 2, 2026.
“BEIJING, June 2, 2026 - China officially recognized the entire territory of Brazil as free of foot-and-mouth disease”
The decision overturns Chinese decisions from 2002, 2005 and 2009, and the World Organisation for Animal Health certified Brazil as free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination about a year ago after the national herd spent 12 months without immunisation.
The South China Morning Post said the recognition lifts a long-standing sanitary barrier, but an import quota in force since January caps how far Brazilian beef sales can grow.
Agrolatam reported that during the first quarter of 2026 alone, China imported nearly $3 billion worth of Brazilian meat, underscoring the economic significance of the relationship.
Trade signals and quotas
Agrolatam said the recognition was made Tuesday by China’s customs authority and represents a major breakthrough for the world’s largest beef exporter, with China described as the largest buyer of Brazilian beef.
The article added that more than half of Brazil’s beef exports were shipped to China last year, and it framed the move as expected to generate billions of dollars in additional trade while influencing global livestock prices and agricultural supply chains.
The South China Morning Post reported that the ruling overturns Chinese decisions from 2002, 2005 and 2009, and it noted that the last of those had treated only Santa Catarina and a group of other states as free of the disease.
In the same reporting, the World Organisation for Animal Health certification was tied to a specific condition: Brazil’s national herd spent 12 months without immunisation before the certification without vaccination.
Broader animal-health shocks
Beyond Brazil-China trade, the FAO warned that the “flambées épidémiques de grippe aviaire” moving west lead to bans on imports of poultry products from affected countries, producing a “chute marquée du commerce mondial de la viande de volaille” and other market disruptions.
“une augmentation de 30 pour cent des prix internationaux de la volaille”
The FAO said that restrictions imposed on exports from Asian countries affected by avian influenza in 2004 and up to mid-2005 drove a 30 pour cent increase in international poultry prices during that period, while it also described a 8 pour cent drop in global poultry trade in 2004.
In parallel, the FAO described how a large-scale avian influenza outbreak spreading into major EU producing countries could trigger import bans worldwide, with the EU accounting for “approximativement 13 pour cent” of global poultry meat production and exports.
The FAO also quantified the EU’s global footprint, saying the EU ships about 1 million tonnes of fresh/refrigerated/frozen products to more than 150 markets worldwide, with three quarters of those shipments going to Russia (23 pour cent), Middle East markets (27 pour cent) and developing African countries (26 pour cent).
