According to UN commodity trade figures, the country exported €13bn worth of meat and meat preparations worldwide in 2015, which is second only to the US.

China, Russia and the Middle East are the key international buyers for Brazil’s meat industry.

The decision by the Chinese authorities to block all shipments of Brazilian meat temporarily – the only such blanket ban so far – is a particularly strong blow to the country’s industry, as China including Hong Kong accounts for 17% of Brazil’s meat exports.

Processed meats

Brazil’s meat exports to Europe take the form of processed meats, with €1bn worth of such products entering the EU in 2016, as well as unprocessed beef (€471m) and poultry (€183m).

Of these, very little is shipped to Ireland directly, but trade routes inside the EU make it difficult to establish how much Brazilian meat reaches these shores after landing first at ports in mainland Europe.

The trend in recent years has been for Brazilian beef imports into the EU to increase constantly (+8% in 2015 alone), while poultry volumes decreased and processed meats remained stable.

Early figures for 2016 indicate that the value of Brazilian meat imports into the EU decreased last year, but this was due to a fall in prices.

By volume, more than half a million tonnes of Brazilian beef products entered the EU in 2016, including 65,688t of beef, with both figures stable year-on-year.

Full coverage: Brazilian meat scandal

Brazil's meat exports in numbers

China's decision to impose a temporary ban on Brazilian meat imports has closed the main market for the South American's giant meat industry.