Brazil: EU ban is “unjustifiable”
In a strong reaction to the EU’s decision to ban Brazilian beef imports, the South American country’s Ministry of Agriculture has called the move “unjustifiable” and “arbitrary” after the EU failed to provide a list of cattle farms deemed safe to export beef. The ministry stated that it has been unable to issue sanitary certificates for beef exports to Europe since the beginning of February because the EU refuses to publish the list of farms that it has authorised, which has resulted in an effective ban on Brazilian products. It also claims that the new measures have been imposed to restrict the entry of Brazilian beef into the EU following pressure from Irish cattle breeders rather than on the grounds of sanitary conditions.
Restrictions were imposed following complaints from European beef producers that Brazilian beef imports were subject to lesser safety regulations than beef produced within the EU (see www.leatherbiz.com December 20, 2007).
Marcus Vinícius Pratini de Moraes, president of the Brazilian Association of Beef Exporters (Abiec) said that the EU’s decision to limit the number of authorised farms to just 300 was a “political” decision and equates to only enough beef to supply three meat packing plants. He added: “It is already affecting our exports to Europe and is bound to alter beef prices in European markets. Although the Brazilian share of the European beef market is just 5%, the decision will affect the price of special cuts and has already helped increase the price of cattle in Ireland.”
The European Commission will inspect the 300 “safe” farms at the end of February.
