Japan schedules sanitary audit on Brazilian beef for March 2026, Brazil says

The Japanese government will conduct an audit to assess Brazil's beef sanitary system in March 2026, as part of the process to open its market to Brazilian products, Brazil's Agriculture Ministry said on Friday.

Brazil, the world's largest beef exporter, has been trying for decades to enter Japan's high-value market.

Earlier this year, negotiations gained some momentum following a visit from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to Japan.

Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico reported on Friday that Japan will initially focus on the three Brazilian southern states - Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Parana - for sanitary reasons.

Reuters reported in August that an expected focus on the region, which represents less than 4% of Brazil's exports by volume, has worried meatpackers in the big beef-producing states of Sao Paulo, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Para.

The southern states were declared free of foot-and-mouth, a contagious viral disease in cattle, before other states, although Brazil acquired in May the national status of being free of the disease without vaccination from the World Organization for Animal Health.

Brazil's last outbreak of the disease was in 2006, according to the government. Foot-and-mouth disease poses no risk to human health but reduces herd productivity, which explains the sanitary concerns.

-Roberto Samora/Reuters