EU restores Brazilian poultry imports after avian flu outbreak closed the market

The EU has lifted a halt on poultry imports from Brazil four months after they were stopped because of an avian flu outbreak.  

The European Commission has begun gradually lifting the temporary restrictions on imports of poultry products from Brazil, an EU executive spokesperson confirmed to Euronews on Tuesday.  

“Providing the epidemiological status remains stable, the second step, as from the 2 October, will be the lifting of restrictions on the state of Rio Grande do Sul (except the 10 km radius around the outbreak which will be finally re-opened by 16th October),” the spokesperson added.  

Brazil has not reported any new outbreaks since mid-May 2025, when it notified the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) that it had suspended its status as ‘free of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)’ following the detection of bird flu on a commercial farm in Montenegro, Rio Grande do Sul. 

Without this status, Brazilian authorities were unable to issue the animal health certificates required for exports to the EU. 

The suspension automatically rendered imports of poultry and poultry products from any region of Brazil ineligible under EU rules, which require countries to maintain an HPAI-free status in order to export poultry – meaning the EU did not need to impose a specific ban on Brazilian poultry. 

Although the EU is not Brazil’s largest poultry market (only around 4.4% of Brazilian poultry exports were sent to the bloc last year), the Latin American country remains a key supplier, accounting for 32% of EU poultry imports in 2024, according to official data.