The European Union has approved stricter requirements for Brazilian cattle ranchers seeking to export their beef to the bloc.
The decision announced this afternoon means beef may be imported after 31 January only from an approved and restricted list of holdings in Brazil.
Thes holdings are fully in line with EU import requirements and meet strict criteria.
The US, Australia, Japan and South Korea already block all Brazilian beef on health grounds, but the EU up til now only had regional bans on beef from three parts of the country.
The Union imported 330,000 tonnes of Brazilian beef last year.
