Brazil Highlights the Benefits of Regionalization Agreements

Article Summary

Brazil’s regionalization agreements limit trade restrictions to disease-affected areas rather than entire countries, saving approximately $954 million annually in poultry exports by allowing continued shipments from unaffected regions during disease outbreaks like Newcastle disease.

• Regionalization agreements limit trade suspensions to specific outbreak areas only, not entire countries, protecting broader trade flows
• Brazil avoided approximately US$954 million in annual losses through regionalization recognition in 2025 compared to 2024 restrictions
• China reduced restrictions from whole-country ban to Santa Catarina only, avoiding US$485 million in potential losses for Brazil
• Most trading partners now restrict imports from only the affected sanitary control area, with fewer applying state or nationwide bans
• Regionalization principles follow World Office for Animal Health (WOAH) standards to protect international trade during disease events

The benefits of regionalization agreements, and how they can minimize the impact on international trade, have been highlighted by Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA), particularly with reference to the recent outbreaks of Newcastle disease and its impact on poultry meat exports.

Recognition of regionalization by trade partners reduces the commercial impact of a sanitary event through export restrictions being applied only to a specified area and not the country as a whole. This is particularly beneficial when a country is large and a disease outbreak contained to specific area.

While Brazil’s trading partners have reacted in various ways to the recent Newcastle disease outbreak in southern state of Santa Catarina, most have limited trade suspensions to the restricted area around the outbreak.

Past Negotiations Rewarded

MAPA notes that following the emergence of Newcastle disease in 2024 in Rio Grande do Sul, it stepped up negotiations with commercial partners to limit restrictions to the affected area only, following the regionalization principles laid down by the World Office for Animal Health (WOAH) to protect trade.

The benefit of this approach became evident with this year’s Newcastle disease outbreak. In contrast to 2024, Brazil’s commercial partners, in almost all cases, have limited their trade suspensions, allowing exports to continue from the rest of the country.

MAPA points to trade with China as a key example. It notes that in response to the 2024 outbreak, the country suspended imports from the whole country. This year, the restriction has been limited to Santa Catarina.

US$954 Million in Losses Avoided

Studies based on Brazil’s 2025 exports suggest that recognition of regionalization has avoided losses of approximately US$954 million per year. The calculation considers a hypothetical situation in which countries apply this year the same restrictions adopted in 2024, in comparison with the measures now applied following the international negotiations.

Among the markets with the greatest mitigated potential impact are China – with US$485 million in potential losses avoided, Saudi Arabia, with approximately US$293 million in potential losses avoided and Argentina with US$57 million.

A Changing Picture

With this latest Newcastle disease outbreak, most of Brazil’s trading partners have halted imports from only from the area under sanitary control. A smaller number have restricted imports from the whole of Santa Catarina, with only three from the whole of Brazil. However, the situation continues to change. Mexico, amongst those countries to place a ban on poultry meat exports from the whole of Brazil, is now only rejecting product from Santa Catarina.