Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA)officially lifted its temporary suspension on tilapia imports from Vietnam, a measure since February 2024 to assess the Tilapia lake virus (TiLV) transmission risk.
The decision was published in Brazil’s Official Gazette on April 24, 2025, as confirmed by the Vietnam Trade Office in Brazil. This move marks one of the first tangible outcomes of the 2025–2030 Action Plan between the two countries, contributing to the deepening of the Vietnam–Brazil Strategic Partnership and advancing mutual economic interests.
Previously, between November 2023 and February 2024, Brazil issued 22 import licenses for frozen tilapia fillets from Vietnam while rejecting two applications for disease risk assessment. According to MAPA, the decision to resume imports is “irreversible” and is tied to high-level agreements that also seek to facilitate Brazil’s beef market access to Vietnam.
MAPA’s Import Risk Analysis (IRA) concluded that the likelihood of TiLV transmission through imported frozen tilapia fillets is “insignificant.” The reopening aligns with Brazil’s updated 2020 technical standards for fresh, chilled, or frozen farmed fish intended for human consumption and is harmonized with the Aquatic Animal Health Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Brazil, both sides will continue technical negotiations to enable full market access for Vietnamese pangasius (tra fish) fillets. In return, Vietnam is expected to open its market to Brazilian beef. Negotiations are also underway to expand market access for Brazilian bovine offal and Vietnamese shrimp products, including whole raw shrimp.
In the context of global economic uncertainty and the urgent need to diversify export markets, Brazil’s removal of the suspension not only revives Vietnam’s tilapia exports but also opens the door for strategic products like pangasius to enter the South American market. This development is crucial to increasing bilateral trade turnover to USD 15 billion by 2030.
However, the Vietnam Trade Office in Brazil has cautioned that this technical opening is only the beginning. Vietnamese seafood processing enterprises listed as eligible to export to Brazil must proactively stay updated on regulations and strictly comply with production, preservation, and export standards to ensure long-term and sustainable market access.