According to the Chinese NGO, Global Environmental Institute, the first shipments of 100% traceable beef are expected to begin in 2025.
As the leading destination for Brazilian beef exports, China signaled during its last technical visit to Brazil in December 2023 that it will demand end-to-end traceability of the supply chain—starting from the animal’s birth—over the coming years.
This requirement is already included in the trade agreements between the two countries but has never been strictly enforced by Chinese importers.
“The Ministry of Agriculture informed us that the mission was positive, but the key takeaway was that China will indeed enforce traceability,” said Danielle Schneider, the traceability coordinator at the Brazilian Beef Exporting Industries Association (Abiec), during an event hosted by Imaflora in Cuiabá.
According to Schneider, these changes are expected to unfold over the next two years with the development of customized traceability protocols. “Unlike Europe, China is not demanding deforestation-related information—only traceability. However, we understand that this could be a stepping stone toward aligning with those kinds of requirements,” Schneider noted.
A joint study by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Fundação Getúlio Vargas, supported by the American NGO The Nature Conservancy, found that Chinese consumers would be willing to pay up to 22.5% more for Brazilian beef if it came with guarantees that the cattle were raised in deforestation-free areas.
Peng Ren, the project manager at the Global Environmental Institute, said that both countries will begin discussions next month to develop traceability solutions, with the goal of starting the first shipments of 100% traceable beef by next year. “We are at the beginning of these negotiations,” he stated.
Following audits conducted in December 2023, China approved the export authorization of 38 new meat processing plants in Brazil, including 24 dedicated to beef. According to Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, this marked the largest single batch of export approvals in the history of trade relations between the two countries.
