China recognises Brazil as foot-and-mouth disease free, lifts bans

BEIJING - China's customs said it has lifted bans related to foot-and-mouth disease in northern Brazil, and recognises the whole of Brazil as free of the disease, according to an official notice released on Tuesday.

The announcement is good news for Brazil, the world's largest beef and chicken exporter. Brazil sent more than half of its beef exports to China last year. China, the world's biggest beef importer, procured meat worth nearly $3 billion from Brazil in the first quarter of this year, its trade data show.

Brazil asked China to allow the country to send more beef to China last month. On a visit to Beijing in late May, Brazilian Agriculture Minister André de Paula asked China to reallocate other nations' unused export quotas to Brazil, but China rejected the request, Reuters reported last month.

China battled a foot-and-mouth outbreak in its northwestern region in late March. The country confirmed foot-and-mouth disease in 219 cattle in two herds comprising a total of 6,229 cattle in Gansu province and Xinjiang region. China tightened border controls, accelerated vaccine approvals, and implemented culling and disinfecting measures following the outbreaks.

(Reporting by Daphne Zhang, Ethan Wang, and Ryan Woo; Editing by Christopher Cushing, William Maclean)

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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 5:21 AM.