THE NFU has urged the government to impose a precautionary ban on Brazilian chicken and beef imports unless Brazil can demonstrate that antibiotics are being used responsibly in livestock production.
The union’s call follows an EU decision to remove Brazil from its list of countries approved to export products of animal origin from 3 September.
According to the NFU, Brazil has not demonstrated compliance with EU requirements intended to limit practices that contribute to antimicrobial resistance.
EU rules prevent the import of products derived from animals treated with certain critically important antimicrobials reserved for human medicine, or antibiotics used for growth promotion and yield improvement.
The NFU said the UK should adopt the same precautionary approach unless ministers can be confident that Brazilian meat meets equivalent standards.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “Unless there is full confidence that Brazilian meat has been produced responsibly, the government should take the same precautionary approach as the EU and ban the import of Brazilian products.”
Concern over diverted poultrymeat
The union also warned that Brazilian chicken originally intended for the EU could be redirected to Britain once the restrictions come into effect.
Brazil exported 211,000 tonnes of chicken to the EU during 2025, making it the bloc’s largest external supplier, according to figures cited by the NFU.
“There is a real risk that Brazilian beef and poultry originally destined for the EU could be diverted to the UK market, distorting trade and putting additional pressure on domestic producers,” Mr Bradshaw said.
The NFU has argued for a set of core production standards that would apply equally to food produced in Britain and products imported into the UK.
It said allowing imports that did not meet comparable requirements could undermine the work undertaken by UK livestock sectors to reduce antibiotic use.
Sales of antibiotics for use in UK farm animals have fallen by 60% since 2014, while the use of antibiotics considered critically important for human health has declined by 83%, the NFU said.
The use of antibiotics for growth promotion has been prohibited in the UK and EU since 2006.
Mr Bradshaw said the government had a responsibility to ensure imported products did not present a risk to public health.
He also called for more frequent testing of animal products arriving from countries classified as presenting a high or medium risk, including Brazil.
Border testing
The NFU said only 94 samples of Brazilian products of animal origin were tested for veterinary medicine residues at the UK border during 2023-24.
It wants testing increased and has said any import restriction should remain in place until Defra has conducted an extensive, in-person audit of Brazilian production and traceability systems.
The union also raised concerns about the potential effect on consumer confidence if the UK continued accepting meat that was no longer eligible for export to the EU.
“Public confidence could be undermined if consumers believe the UK is importing beef or poultry meat that the EU has deemed unsafe,” Mr Bradshaw said.
He added that clear country-of-origin labelling, particularly in foodservice, was important to maintaining confidence in British meat.
