The UK government has asked authorities in Brazil for “urgent information and assurances” about beef and poultry production standards in the South American country.

It comes as the EU implements a ban on Brazilian imports from today (Thursday) due to concerns about antimicrobial use in livestock.

However, London has insisted that it will not automatically follow Brussels by introducing a similar import ban on beef and poultry from Brazil.

Instead, the UK government is carrying out its “own risk-based assessment” of Brazilian standards, thereby allowing imports to continue in the meantime.

“Our experts have sought urgent information and assurances from Brazil as part of a rapid assessment of beef and poultry production systems to ensure our high food and animal welfare standards are being met,” a UK government spokesperson said.

There are concerns that, by not replicating the EU ban, more product from Brazil could be diverted to the UK after being locked out of the European market.

In response, the UK government spokesperson said it will be “closely monitoring market impacts of the EU ban”.

“This government will always act to protect our farmers and the public with our world-leading robust import controls which are in place to protect animal and public health,” the spokesperson said.

Even before the EU ban, imports of beef from Brazil into the UK have already rising sharply over recent months.

The latest figures show the UK imported 6,687t of fresh and frozen beef from Brazil during the first half of 2026, which is up 46% on the same period last year.

At this stage, sources in the local meat processing sector appear unconvinced that the UK will implement a ban on Brazilian imports on the back of its ongoing review.

“We have very little hope in the UK government,” said an industry source.

The lack-lustre campaign by the UK farming unions to urge the UK government to replicate the EU’s import ban has also been criticised by some in the meat trade.

It is understood that the Ulster Farmers’ Union has been lobbying for a ban on Brazilian imports for several months, with the organisation issuing a public statement on the issue in late July.

However, a joint statement from all four UK farming union calling for import restrictions was only published last Friday, less than a week before the EU ban takes effect.

The origins of the EU ban go back to last November when an Irish Farmers Journal/Irish Farmers’ Association investigation uncovered serious shortcomings in antimicrobial use, medicine records and animal traceability in Brazil.

In May 2026, the EU confirmed that Brazil had not demonstrated compliance with new requirements on the use of antimicrobial in animals and it would be removed from a list of approved importers.