EU audit could spare Brazilian chicken exports from planned ban
The European Union will audit Brazil in late August in a move that could allow Brazilian chicken exports to avoid a ban scheduled to take effect on September 3.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, will audit products for which Brazil has provided written guarantees that it complies with the bloc’s requirements on the use of antibiotics in animal production, Commission spokesperson Eva Hrncirova said in a statement sent to Bloomberg News.
According to foreign trade data obtained by Datamar, Brazil exported 7,131 TEUs of chicken meat to the 27 European Union countries in the first half of 2026, nearly 50% more than in the same period a year earlier. The chart below shows the detailed monthly figures:
Chicken Meat Exports to the EU | H1 2022-2026 | TEUs
Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)
Beef and eggs will not be part of the audit because Brazil cannot guarantee compliance with EU rules designed to prevent the excessive use of antimicrobials throughout the animals’ entire life cycle, Hrncirova added. That significantly reduces the chances that Brazilian beef exports will avoid the European ban.
If the audit outcome is positive, the Commission may consider changing the list of authorized exporters to restore Brazil’s eligibility for chicken and honey exports, Hrncirova said.
The measure, however, would depend on a vote by EU member states. The audit will produce a report “in the following weeks,” leaving a tight timeline even for Brazilian poultry products.
Ricardo Santin, president of the Brazilian Animal Protein Association, or ABPA, which represents chicken exporters, said the audit is scheduled for August 24 and that there is “indeed a possibility” of avoiding the EU ban.
He added that antimicrobials are not used in chicken production destined for the European market.
“The mission has a specific scope, which is to verify whether the additional layer of oversight that the EU asked Brazil to implement is effectively in place,” Santin said.
“We are going through a cycle with this additional layer. Our production practices have not changed: we have always segregated production, and we will continue to do so.”
In May, the EU left Brazil off the list of countries authorized to supply animal-origin products to the bloc for the first time, surprising Brazilian officials and exporters.
Since then, the two sides have been negotiating to try to prevent a full interruption of exports of products that accounted for $1.8 billion in EU imports in 2025, according to data from Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture.
Source: Bloomberg Linea