Botswana’s lucrative beef export market has suffered another blow after the European Union (EU) joined the United Kingdom in imposing restrictions on imports of fresh bovine meat from the country following an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).
In a new directive, the European Commission amended its regulations to suspend the entry of fresh meat consignments from parts of Botswana previously authorised to export to the EU.
The move follows confirmation of FMD outbreaks in cattle establishments in the North-East District. The development raised fears that the disease could spread and threaten the bloc’s animal health systems.
According to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/451, the decision was taken as a precautionary measure due to the risk of the disease entering the European Union through imported meat.
‘The entry into the Union of consignments of fresh meat of certain ungulates from the veterinary disease control zone 3c in Botswana should no longer be authorised,’ the EU states.
Botswana first notified international animal health bodies on January 28 about a suspected outbreak of the disease in cattle, which was confirmed a day later. Additional outbreaks were later detected in five more cattle establishments in the same region.
Four of those outbreaks occurred within veterinary disease control zone 3c which is an area that had previously been cleared to export beef to the EU.
The suspension effectively removes that zone from the list of areas allowed to send fresh meat to the European market.
The EU’s decision comes just weeks after the United Kingdom imposed similar restrictions.
The UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced in February that imports of fresh bovine meat processed on or after December 30, 2025 from Botswana would be temporarily restricted until the extent of the outbreak becomes clear.
The UK warned that the decision was necessary to protect Britain’s livestock sector.
‘Until the extent of the outbreak of disease in Botswana is clarified, imports into Great Britain of fresh bovine meat processed on or after 30 December 2025 from Botswana should be temporarily restricted,’ Defra said in a notification to veterinary authorities.
The restrictions also apply to meat shipped from Botswana but dispatched from cold storage facilities in neighbouring South Africa.
It is understood that Botswana’s beef industry, long regarded as one of the country’s key agricultural export sectors, has historically relied heavily on the European market, where its beef enjoys preferential access under trade agreements.
The EU said the amendments to its import rules were implemented with urgency due to the evolving epidemiological situation in Botswana.
The measures were adopted following consultations with the bloc’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed.
Reports indicate that Botswana is now under pressure to contain the outbreak quickly in order to restore export access to one of their most important international markets.