The Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) has met with Irish MEP Ciaran Mullooly on Brazilian beef and poultry products.

The meeting comes as a ban on those products being exported to the EU from Brazil comes into effect from today (Thursday, September 3).

This is as a result of Brazil being unable to demonstrate compliance with EU requirements on tracking antimicrobial use in food-producing animals.

The UFU said that this ban - and the lack of a similar ban in the UK - has "implications for Northern Ireland farmers".

The farm organisation said that it has "serious concerns" that, from today, the EU and Northern Ireland, under the Windsor Framework, will no longer permit imports of Brazilian beef and poultry, while no ban is set to be put in place by the UK government.

James McCluggage, UFU policy director, said that the UK government's decision "not to immediately align with the EU on Brazilian imports raises significant questions from both a public health and farming perspective".

"Given the global concerns around antimicrobial resistance, it is difficult to understand why the UK is taking a different approach while carrying out a review that may not conclude until 2027", McCluggage added.

Testing

The UFU claimed that the UK's Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) tested just 94 meat samples for residues of veterinary medicines during 2023 and 2024, despite 114,442t of Brazilian meat being imported during that period.

In Northern Ireland however, 4,953 meat samples were tested in 2025 alone.

McCluggage said: "Northern Ireland and UK farmers operate to some of the highest production standards in the world and have made significant progress in reducing antibiotic use on farms.

"It is only fair that imported products meet equivalent standards. Farmers should not be undercut by products produced under systems that cannot currently provide those same assurances."

The UFU also warned of the potential market impact for Northern Ireland and UK farmers, should Brazilian beef and poultry, currently destined for EU markets, be diverted into Britain.

The UFU said it believes there is "a real risk" that a proportion of products from Brazil could be redirected into the UK market, creating pressure on farmgate prices.

The farm organisation said that Mullooly agreed at the meeting to continue working with political representatives in Brussels and Dublin to "ensure Northern Ireland farmers' concerns are fully understood".