Countries that Import Meat from Brazil

Patrick Bruha

Staff Writer
The Brazil Business

Updated

30 April 2015

Brazil is among the largest producers and exporters of beef, poultry and pork in the world. In this article, we will take a look at the countries that are importing meat from Brazil.

Habilitating the company to export

First of all, if a company wishes to export live animals or animal products from Brazil, it must be compliant with the requirements specified by MAPA, which is the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply. Thus, a company interested in exporting meat must first obtain a registration from the Federal Inspection Service or SIF of MAPA. Registration with SIF is only complete after the facilities and the production processes are in compliance with the sanitary, technical and legal requirements.

After registration is granted, the company must be inspected by the Department of Inspection of Animal Products, known as DIPOA, which is managed by the Secretariat of Agricultural Protection in MAPA. Only after the completion of a successful inspection will the company be added to the list of companies authorized to export. A list of all companies authorized to export by MAPA can be found on this website.

An International Animal Health Certificate, the CSI, is also required as an international document attesting the health and proper vaccination of the animals, as well as:

• Conditions of the facilities where the animals are handled
• Appropriate use of supplies, such as food free from products of animal origin, hormones, antibiotics or prohibited anabolic steroids

Overview of Brazilian meat exports

Brazilian beef, poultry and pork is recognized as being high quality and exported all over the world.

Brazil is the world’s leading exporter of both beef and poultry, exporting to more than 150 countries. In fact, beef exports accounted for USD 5,8 billion, and poultry exports accounted for around USD 8 billion in 2014. As for pork, Brazil is also an important exporter, having exported around USD 1,6 billion in 2014, making it the fourth largest exporter in the world.

Brazil is also an exporter of horse meat, but this market is much less inspiring, with Brazilian exports amounting to USD 6 million in 2014.

Largest importers of Brazilian meat

It is important to say that India does not import meat from Brazil, since it does not hold any health agreement with Brazil. South Korea, United States and Mexico also do not import beef and pork from Brazil since they do not import meat from countries that vaccinate its bovine and swine against Foot-and-Mouth disease.

Let’s take a look at the top importers of Brazilian meat, divided into beef, poultry and pork.

Beef importers

Here are the top importers of Brazilian beef, ranked according to the value of imports, in USD thousands.