Stop all imports of Brazilian meat. Bresaola supply chain left without supplies

From today, the European halt on imports of beef from Brazil comes into force. The measure was triggered by the use of antimicrobials and hormones in livestock farming, substances that accelerate growth but are not permitted under EU health regulations.

The Brazilian authorities had several months to transpose the Union’s rules and the Brazilian Association of meat-exporting industries has stated that the government submitted the guarantees requested by the European authorities on the monitoring of antimicrobial use. According to the Association, Brazil’s beef supply chain has already introduced a private protocol for monitoring antimicrobial use, drawn up together with other organisations in the sector.

In fact, as soon as the agreement between the EU and Mercosurwas approved, Brazil should have adopted the certification excluding antimicrobials, as Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay are reported to have done.

Unfair competition

For Coldiretti, the halt to Brazilian imports “is a victory resulting from the campaign conducted in Italy and Brussels to uphold the principle of reciprocity. Not a campaign against international trade, but against unfair competition that for too long has demanded the highest standards in the world from European farmers while, at the same time, allowing the entry of products that did not offer equivalent guarantees”.

However, the halt to imports of Brazilian meat also creates a problem for producers of Bresaola della Valtellina PGI, for which approximately 80% of the raw material comes from non-EU countries, especially zebu meat from South America. Before the halt to imports, businesses in the supply chain stocked up on Brazilian meat, but the problem will arise in a few months.
The specification for Bresaola della Valtellina PGI requires processing to take place in Italy, but does not require Italian origin for the cattle

Volumes fall

A difficult situation for Italian producers, which has seen prices rise further in recent months.
The Assica Report 2025 reports that overall sales of Bresaola in large-scale retail have fallen by 6,3%. While sales of Bresaola della Valtellina PGI have suffered a sharp decline by 12,1% in volume, affected by rising prices and the shortage of raw material.
Consumer value, however, increased by 4,6% to 502 million euros.

Other articles:
Bresaola della Valtellina on alert: from 3 September, halt to Brazilian meat imports

Bresaola della Valtellina PGI: in 2025 consumer value of 502 million euros

This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.