Brazil recognizes açaí as a national fruit to counter biopiracy and protect Amazon biodiversity. JAN 28, 2026

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Brazil recognizes açaí as a national fruit to counter biopiracy and protect Amazon biodiversity.

Brazil officially recognized açaí (Euterpe oleracea) as a national fruit in early January 2026, in a move aimed at reaffirming the country’s sovereignty over one of the most emblematic products of Amazonian biodiversity and drawing attention to the growing problem of biopiracy — the use of genetic resources without authorization or fair benefit-sharing.

Native to the Amazon floodplains, açaí has been consumed for centuries by Indigenous and riverine communities, traditionally eaten as a savory paste accompanied by fish and manioc flour. Over the past two decades, however, the fruit has gained global popularity after being rebranded internationally as a “superfood,” widely marketed in smoothies, bowls, and nutritional supplements for its antioxidant properties.

The global boom in açaí consumption has also attracted the interest of multinational food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics companies. Brazilian lawmakers have cited past attempts by foreign companies to trademark the name “açaí” abroad, including a case in which a Japanese firm registered the term in 2003. Brazil succeeded in overturning the registration only four years later.

According to Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, the new law helps reinforce açaí’s identity as a genuinely Brazilian product and highlights its importance as a source of income for thousands of Amazonian families. Specialists, however, stress that the measure is largely symbolic, serving mainly to elevate the issue of genetic resource protection on the public agenda.

Brazil is among the world’s most biodiverse countries, and experts warn that many native fruits with unique biochemical properties face a significant risk of being incorporated into high-value products developed and patented abroad. Sheila de Souza Correa de Melo, an intellectual property analyst at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), has described this risk as “enormous,” particularly in the absence of stronger domestic research and innovation capacity.

The frequently cited case of cupuaçu, a fruit related to cocoa, illustrates these concerns. In the late 1990s, a foreign company registered the name as a trademark overseas and demanded royalty payments for its commercial use. The trademark was overturned only after nearly two decades of legal disputes.

Brazilian companies that rely on Amazonian ingredients have also voiced support for clearer regulatory frameworks. Representatives from the cosmetics company Natura have emphasized the need for clear rules that ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from genetic resources.

Brazil is a signatory to the Nagoya Protocol, an international agreement adopted in 2014 to regulate access to genetic resources and the sharing of benefits arising from their use. Nonetheless, the protocol faces challenges as genetic information becomes increasingly digitized, allowing researchers to access DNA sequences without physically collecting biological material.

Researchers argue that one of Brazil’s main challenges is that raw materials such as açaí pulp are often exported for processing and research abroad, where higher-value products are developed. Strengthening scientific research and technological development within the Amazon, they say, is essential to ensuring that more economic value remains in the region.

The Green Amazon News – International

This text was compiled using public data, scientific reports, and information from meteorological institutions.

The Green Amazon News — All rights reserved.

The Green Amazon News Editorial Team