Illegal product market, driven by counterfeiting, smuggling, piracy and tax evasion, caused record losses of R$514 billion to Brazil in 2025
The illegal product market, driven by counterfeiting, smuggling, piracy and tax evasion, caused record losses of R$514 billion to Brazil in 2025according to the 2026 Counterfeiting Yearbook, released by the Brazilian Association to Combat Counterfeiting (ABCF) this Wednesday (27). It is an increase of 8% compared to the previous year. You values refer to losses in tax revenue and revenue from industries legally established.
The survey shows that the three most affected sectors were:
- Alcoholic drinks: loss of R$89.5 billion;
- Clothing: R$55 billion
- Fuels: R$30 billion.
But the damage goes far beyond the economic. Adulterated products can pose serious health risks. One of the examples was the crisis of adulteration of drinks with methanol.
The Chamber of Deputies approved in October last year, bill to make a heinous crime the falsification, corruption, adulteration or alteration of substances or beverages, food products and dietary supplements. The penalty for the aforementioned crimes is four to eight years in prison.
O State of São Paulo appears as the center of the illegal market in the country, concentrating 40% of all national losses, equivalent to R$205.6 billion. Despite not being a border region, São Paulo leads the Federal Revenue’s ranking of seizures, accounting for 20% of operations carried out in the country.
Phases of irregular trade
Irregular trade occurs on three main fronts:
- Direct fakes: pens sold with packaging and labels identical to the originals, but which contain different substances, such as insulin, capable of causing severe hypoglycemia, or just saline solution.
- Prohibited industrial manipulation: pharmacies and clandestine laboratories produce “generic” versions of semaglutide and tirzepatide;
- Unregistered substances: sale of compounds such as retatrutide, still in the clinical testing phase.
Sectors with the greatest losses in 2025
- Alcoholic drinks – R$89.5 billion
- Clothing – R$55 billion
- Sports equipment – R$32 billion
- Fuels – R$30 billion
- Perfumery – R$22.8 billion
- Agricultural pesticides – R$22 billion
- Medicines – R$16.8 billion
- Gold – R$13.8 billion
- Pay TV – R$13 billion
- Auto parts – R$ 13 billion
- Electrical materials – R$12 billion
- Optical sector – R$ 11.8 billion
- Hygiene and cosmetics – R$ 11.5 billion
- Cigarettes – R$10.5 billion
- Cell phones – R$10.5 billion
- Food supplements – R$10 billion
