China releases three Brazilian meatpacking plants that had been suspended since March 2025 to resume beef shipments, including the JBS unit in Mozarlândia, the world's largest meat processor, which has resumed exports after more than a year.

China releases three Brazilian meatpacking plants that had been suspended since March 2025 to resume beef shipments, including the JBS unit in Mozarlândia, the world’s largest meat processor, which has resumed exports after more than a year.

Written by Maria Heloisa Barbosa Borges

Published on 20/05/2026 at 14:33

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China authorized three Brazilian meatpacking plants to resume beef exports after suspension started in March 2025. Among those cleared is the JBS unit in Mozarlândia, Goiás, the largest meat processor in the world. According to G1, the decision coincides with the visit of the Minister of Agriculture to Beijing, where Brazil requested the approval of 33 new meatpacking plants for export to the Chinese market.

China reinstated this Wednesday (20) three Brazilian meatpacking plants that were banned from shipping beef since March 2025. The decision was confirmed by the Brazilian Association of Meat Exporting Industries after a meeting between authorities from both countries in Beijing. The cleared plants are JBS in Mozarlândia, Goiás, the largest meat processor in the world, Frisa Frigorífico Rio Doce, in Nanuque, Minas Gerais, and Bon-Mart Frigorífico, in Presidente Prudente, São Paulo. The reinstatement was recorded in China’s food importers registration platform, CIFER, with the resumption date on May 19.

The clearance comes at a critical moment for the trade relationship between the two countries. China imposed for 2026 a quota of 1.106 million tons of Brazilian beef exempt from the additional 55% tariff, and the volume is already close to being reached after record exports in the first months of the year. The president of Abiec, Roberto Perosa, warned that production destined for China may stop around June, when the quota is filled. The reinstatement of the three meatpacking plants is seen by the sector as a positive sign, but the short-term scenario remains tense.

Why the meatpacking plants were suspended by China

The suspension of the three plants occurred in March 2025 by determination of the General Administration of Customs of China, known by the acronym GACC. The agency cited “non-compliance” with Chinese requirements for the registration of foreign establishments but did not publicly detail which specific criteria were violated.

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The dimension of the Chinese market for Brazilian beef

The numbers help to understand why rehabilitation matters so much. China is the main destination for Brazilian beef and accounted for 48.5% of the entire sector’s revenue in the first four months of 2026. Between January and April, Brazil exported 474,220 tons of beef to the Chinese market, an increase of 20.9% compared to the same period of the previous year, with revenue of 2.693 billion dollars, a growth of 42.9%.

In 2025, the record year, Brazil exported a total of 3.09 million tons of beef, with a turnover of 16.61 billion dollars. China took 1.7 million of these tons. Perosa was direct in saying that there is no market in the world capable of replacing Chinese demand. Currently, 66 Brazilian slaughterhouses are authorized to export beef to China, and the Ministry of Agriculture has just requested the authorization of 33 more.

The 33 new slaughterhouses in the authorization queue

In addition to the rehabilitation of the three suspended slaughterhouses, Brazil took advantage of the negotiations in Beijing to expand access to the Chinese market. The Secretary of Commerce and International Relations of the Ministry of Agriculture, Luis Rua, requested the Chinese government to authorize 33 new slaughterhouses for export: 20 for beef, 11 for poultry, and two for pork.

The request is strategic. With the quota of 1.106 million tons quickly running out, expanding the number of authorized plants is a way to prepare the ground for when China eventually reviews the limits. The Minister of Agriculture, André de Paula, appointed at the end of March, is personally in Beijing conducting the negotiations. Abiec classified the rehabilitation of the three slaughterhouses as “an important achievement that reinforces China’s confidence in the Brazilian sanitary system and the quality of beef produced in the country.”

The Chinese quota and the risk of a halt in June

The main factor of tension between the two countries in 2026 is not the suspension of plants, but the tariff quota imposed by China to protect its domestic livestock. The rule establishes that up to 1.106 million tons of Brazilian beef can enter without an additional tariff; above this volume, a 55% rate applies, a level that economically makes export unfeasible.

The problem is that Brazilian exporters rushed to ship as much as possible in the first months of the year, before the quota was exhausted. With 474,000 tons already sent by April and additional volumes dispatched at the end of 2025 that counted towards 2026, the remaining margin is narrow. Perosa estimated that production destined for China could be halted around June, which would force meatpackers like JBS to redirect the meat to the domestic market or to other less profitable destinations. The projected drop in total exports for the year reaches 10%.

What the release of the meatpackers means in the bigger picture

The rehabilitation of the three meatpackers happens at the same time Putin visits Beijing to sign 40 bilateral agreements with Xi Jinping, and a few days after Trump left the Chinese capital without major achievements. Brazil competes with several countries for access to China’s animal protein market, and large companies like JBS depend on this channel to maintain the processing volumes of their plants.

For the sector, the message is twofold: the Brazilian sanitary system continues to be recognized by China, but the trade relationship between the two countries is increasingly conditioned by tariff instruments and quotas that limit the growth of exports. The release of the meatpackers is positive, but it does not solve the structural problem of a quota that can halt shipments in a matter of weeks.

Do you think China will expand the quota for Brazilian meat, or is the country deliberately slowing imports to protect its livestock? What worries more: the 55% quota, the suspension of meatpackers, or the dependence on a single market? Tell us in the comments.

China releases three Brazilian meatpacking plants that had been suspended since March 2025 to resume beef shipments, including the JBS unit in Mozarlândia, the world’s largest meat processor, which has resumed exports after more than a year.

Why the meatpacking plants were suspended by China

The dimension of the Chinese market for Brazilian beef

The 33 new slaughterhouses in the authorization queue

The Chinese quota and the risk of a halt in June

What the release of the meatpackers means in the bigger picture

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China releases three Brazilian meatpacking plants that had been suspended since March 2025 to resume beef shipments, including the JBS unit in Mozarlândia, the world’s largest meat processor, which has resumed exports after more than a year.

Why the meatpacking plants were suspended by China

The dimension of the Chinese market for Brazilian beef

The 33 new slaughterhouses in the authorization queue

The Chinese quota and the risk of a halt in June

What the release of the meatpackers means in the bigger picture

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