Japan will conduct an audit of Brazil’s beef sanitary system in March as part of the process to open its market to Brazilian products, Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry said.
Reuters notes Brazil has sought access to Japan’s high-value market for decades, with talks gaining momentum after a visit by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva earlier this year. Japan may initially focus on southern states with earlier foot-and-mouth disease-free status, a move that has raised concerns among meatpackers elsewhere.
Brazil achieved national disease-free status without vaccination in 2025, and its last outbreak occurred in 2006, easing long-standing sanitary barriers to trade.
