Argentinian President Mauri- cio Macri (R) re- ceives Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (L) at Casa Rosada, the seat of the gov- ernment, in Bue- nos Aires, Ar- gentina, 6 June 2019. Mercosur is high on the agenda for both leaders.
Indigenous Peoples, and escalating hostility towards civil so- ciety. “The deal would also increase greenhouse gas emis- sions and undermine farmers’ livelihoods on both sides of the Atlantic.” Beef farmers in Europe, too, have made their protestations known. To so-called “beef belt” of countries that produce a lot of beef – Ireland, France, Belgium and Poland, have all object- ed to the deal, which will increase the amount of produce that Mercosur countries can send tariff-free. The objections were so strong that leaders of those countries sent a letter to the European Commission warning the deal could threaten beef production – a “fragile” sector. “We would like to express our deep concern on a number of issues concerning the cur- rent negotiation with Mercosur including on some sensitive agricultural products,” it says.
Poultry Broiler producers are also unhappy with the deal. The Associ- ation of Poultry Processors and Poultry Trade (AVEC), which represents the European industry, said that the Commission had often praised the sector as independent, taking no pro- duction subsidies. Its secretary general Birthe Steenberg said: “Why then did the Commission proceed to offer the sector up for slaughter and sacrifice this ‘success story’ while negoti- ating the Mercosur agreement? “A whopping quota of 180,000 tonnes of additional poultry
10 ▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 6, 2019
meat has been granted to Mercosur countries, mainly Brazil, precisely double the amount of the last offer made at the end of 2017 and agreed by the EU Member States. “Nothing can justify a 100% increase of the quantities,” said Ms Steenberg. “This is not just about more meat. It’s about people and liveli- hoods that will be impacted by this agreement! An extra 180,000 tonnes of poultry meat imported to the EU means a significant loss of EU jobs for our sector, mainly located in rural areas.” Europe imports close to 900,000 tonnes of poultry meat every year from third countries. That compares with the im- port of beef, about 300,000 tonnes, and pork at around 20,000 tonnes. Ms Steenberg added: “With additional import- ed quantities, we will import the equivalent of German or French chicken meat production. So why is the EU so ready to chuck out our chicken? “Over the past 20 years the EU poultry meat sector has made huge efforts to implement stronger policies on animal welfare, food safety and environment. “With the Mercosur deal the EU Commission is basically say- ing our efforts were useless. We are fine with importing poul- try meat with lower standards from third countries. “The EU poultry meat sector feels betrayed by the Commis- sion. Our sector has been sacrificed to satisfy the interests of bigger players. Our words may be strong, but they serve to highlight the level of disarray within the poultry meat sector right now.”
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