Japan Begins Sanitary Audit of Brazil's Beef Industry, Eyes November Market Opening
Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries began a four-day audit of Brazil's animal sanitary system on Tuesday, the 10th, a step toward opening its market to Brazilian beef. Market opening could be announced in November, during COP30 in Belém.
Japanese Inspectors Tour Brazil's Animal Health System
Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) began a four-day audit of Brazil's animal sanitary system on Tuesday, the 10th, a step in Tokyo's evaluation of opening its market to Brazilian beef, according to Terra/Estadão. Luis Rua, secretary of Trade and International Relations at Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture, said the mission runs through Friday, the 13th, and forms part of the Japanese government's process for assessing market access for Brazilian beef.
The Japanese delegation started its visit on Monday with an initial meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture's headquarters in Brasília. The practical audit began Tuesday in Santa Catarina, with stops at the state's Federal Superintendency of Agriculture and at Cidasc, the state's integrated agricultural development agency. On Wednesday, the 11th, inspectors visited the local veterinary unit and the regional unit in São Miguel do Oeste. The team then moved to the BR-163 inspection post on the border between Paraná and Santa Catarina, the Vigiagro post in Dionísio Cerqueira, and the veterinary unit in Cascavel, Paraná. On the final day, Friday, the delegation is scheduled to visit Adapar, Paraná's agricultural defense agency, and the Federal Superintendency of Agriculture in Curitiba.
Santa Catarina and Paraná were the first Brazilian states to receive recognition as free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination, a status Brazil extended to its entire territory last week.
Step Six of a Twelve-Step Approval Process
The inspections are part of a 12-step process run by Japan's Animal Sanitary Authority (ASA), which is linked to MAFF, to open the market to Brazilian beef. According to the schedule set by the Japanese government, the current inspections represent step six. No visits to meat-processing plants are planned at this stage, as the audit covers Brazil's sanitary system as a whole rather than individual facilities.
Once the inspections conclude, ASA will produce risk-analysis reports and consult its animal risk analysis committee. The committee then reports its findings back to ASA, which notifies Brazil of the results and sets the animal health requirements for an international sanitary certificate (CSI) to be agreed between the two countries. Japan's sanitary authority would then notify Brazil and begin the process of qualifying individual Brazilian meat-processing plants for exports.
Disease-Free Status Removes a Key Obstacle
Brazil's recognition as free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) — a requirement Japan had set — is seen as clearing one of the main barriers to the talks. Roberto Perosa, chief executive of the Brazilian Association of Meat Exporting Industries (Abiec), said at the recognition ceremony in Paris: "We now have all the guarantees requested. The technical issues are advancing quickly. The WOAH certificate will allow us to move forward even further."
Perosa argued that Japanese authorities should take into account that the entire Brazilian territory now holds the recognition, compared with the earlier request that covered only five states with disease-free status: Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, Acre and Rondônia. "We hope Japan considers Brazil's new sanitary status. It's a new moment. We expect the opening to be finalized still this year," he said.
Market Opening Expected Around COP30
People following the talks expect Japan to announce the opening of its market to Brazilian beef in November, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Pará. "The political decision for the opening has already been made, leaving only the technical procedures to be completed," one person familiar with the matter said.
Japan's government promised the audit to Brazil in March, during President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's visit to Japan. Access to the Japanese market — known for high quality standards, demand for higher-value cuts and premium prices — has been an industry goal for more than 20 years. The process accelerated last year, when Japanese parliamentarians and government technicians visited Brazil twice to evaluate beef plants, most recently in October alongside Japan's agriculture minister.
The Brazilian pork industry is also seeking wider access to Japan, where imports are currently authorized only from the state of Paraná. Ricardo Santin, president of the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA), described Japan as "a market that is not speculative, that values quality and continuous supply — a market that tends to pay premiums on exports."
