File photo for representational purposes only
The world’s top beef exporter Brazil is in advanced talks to begin shipments to Japan, according to a major industry group, in a move that may hurt US sales to the Asian nation.
Brazil has provided Japan with information about its production system and shipments for two decades, and now the industry is optimistic that the world’s third-biggest importer of the meat will finally open up its market, according to Roberto Perosa, who formerly served in the country’s agriculture ministry and is the current president of the Brazilian Association of Beef Exporters.
"There are no longer any sanitary issues in Brazil,” Perosa said in an interview. Japan had previously questioned Brazil’s controls over diseases like foot and mouth. "We now have political momentum,” after the visit of Japan’s Agriculture Minister Taku Eto to the country last year, he added.
A move to allow Brazilian beef into Japan would put rival shipments from the US at risk. The US is currently one of Japan’s major beef suppliers, but the country is dealing with a severe shortage of cattle that drove a spike in US beef imports from Brazil. Cattle futures have been trading at record levels, and the squeeze is expected to last at least into 2026.
More than half of Japan’s beef consumption comes from imports, Perosa said, adding that the country is especially reliant on shipments for beef cuts used as ingredients by the food industry.
Currently, most of the Asian nation’s supplies are coming from the US and Australia, at costs higher than what’s typically delivered from Brazil, he said.
"Brazil could complement local beef production as we usually consume less of the kind of meat Japan demands and we have a high supply capacity,” he said.
Perosa is scheduled to visit Japan and Vietnam, another target market for Brazilian beef, in early February. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has a trip planned for March. The world’s fourth-largest beef importer South Korea, as well as the Turkish market, are also among the association’s priorities this year.
Perosa estimates Brazilian beef exports should rise roughly 10% in 2025 with the opening of some of those markets. The industry group is strengthening its international presence, with plans in the first half of the year to open its first offices outside Brazil: in Washington, Brussels and Beijing.
Inside Brazil’s government offices there is also optimism that Japan could open its market this year.
"With Minister Taku Eto, the talks over beef improved,” said Luis Rua, who works as the secretary of commerce and international relations in Brazil’s agriculture ministry. He said while the Japanese market for Brazilian beef may not be opened by March, it could happen by the end of this year.
