Brazil is moving toward mandatory individual traceability for cattle and buffaloes, a change that could reshape one of the world’s largest beef supply chains by 2032.
The National Plan for Individual Identification of Cattle and Buffaloes (PNIB), led by Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, aims to move the country from a lot-based traceability model to one in which each animal carries a unique identification code. The government says the change should improve disease control, food safety, herd management and compliance with export-market requirements.
Why It Matters
Brazil’s current system tracks cattle and buffaloes mainly by lots, under rules created by a 2009 law and a 2011 decree. The federal strategic plan says that model has limits, especially during animal-health emergencies, when authorities may need to identify and isolate sick animals quickly.
Under individual identification, each animal would have a unique and non-reusable code. The federal plan says the database should record basic producer information, farm geolocation, animal data such as species, sex and birth month, and movement records linked to Brazil’s Animal Transit Guide, known as the GTA.
Rosana Maneschy, a professor at the Federal University of Pará and a partner researcher at the University of São Paulo’s Josué de Castro Chair, told Jornal da USP that Brazil’s cattle chain is often fragmented because one animal can pass through several properties. That makes continuous traceability harder, especially when small producers must adopt new technology and data-registration tools.
The Federal Timetable
The PNIB strategic plan runs from 2025 to 2032. Its first stage, in 2025, focuses on building the federal information system and central database. The second stage, in 2026, is intended to make state animal-health systems interoperable with the national platform.
From 2027 to 2029, individual identification is scheduled to begin for animals involved in defined health-management procedures, including brucellosis vaccination under Brazil’s animal-health programs, and for animals covered by private protocols approved or recognized by the Agriculture Ministry.
The final stage, from 2030 to 2032, expands the requirement to all cattle and buffaloes that move within Brazil. By the end of 2032, the plan expects the national herd to be individually identified before first movement. A Minerva Foods article citing the Official Gazette said movement of unidentified cattle and buffaloes will be banned from January 1, 2033.
The official identification options include electronic ear tags, electronic buttons, or combinations of tags and buttons, with at least one electronic device in some formats. The federal plan says the standard PNIB devices will be yellow and tamper-proof, though future rules may authorize additional forms of identification.
Pará Moves Faster
Pará, a major cattle-producing state in the Amazon region, is already moving ahead of the federal timetable. The state government says its Individual Bovine Traceability System, known as SRBIPA, has been registering cattle and buffaloes since 2024.
In August 2025, Pará reported the first slaughter of animals identified under the system: a group of 20 registered males from a farm in Marabá, sent to a federally inspected JBS/Friboi plant. The state said the movement was tracked from farm departure to slaughter.
Pará’s program aims to identify all cattle and buffaloes in transit from January 2026 and the entire state herd from January 2027. The state says producers with up to 100 animals receive identification tags free of charge. The process uses one visual yellow tag and one blue radio-frequency identification tag, allowing electronic reading even without internet access.
Export Pressure
Traceability is also tied to market access. Industry and sustainability groups say buyers increasingly want proof of origin, sanitary control and, in some cases, evidence that cattle are not linked to deforestation.
The Brazilian Roundtable on Sustainable Livestock says the PNIB could democratize individual traceability beyond older export-specific systems such as SISBOV, which is associated with meeting European Union sanitary requirements. Producers and companies also argue that individual records can support farm management by tracking weight gain, vaccination history and productivity.
The challenge is cost and execution. The federal plan says financing will need public and especially private resources so implementation does not place excessive pressure on rural producers. Training and awareness campaigns are also planned throughout the transition.