The Carrefour Group said it regrets that its announcement that French stores will not stock meat from countries belonging to the Mercosour economic bloc was perceived as “questioning and criticism of the partnership with Brazilian agriculture.”
“Carrefour France's decision is not intended to change the rules on the French market (…). It is a legitimate assurance (addressed to) French farmers who find themselves in a deep crisis about the durability of our support and our local purchases,” says the group's statement .
She emphasized that the meat sold in France comes from this country, in turn w Brazil Brazilian meat is offered in stores and that this rule will be maintained. “Never we did not oppose French agriculture to Brazilian agriculture” – assured the company, adding that “it is proud to be a leading partner and historical promoter of Brazilian agriculture.” It assured that it knows “the standards that Brazilian meat maintains, its high quality and taste.”
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Outrage after the words of the president of Carrefour
Carrefour Group CEO Alexandre Bompard suggested last week that in an act of solidarity with French farmers who are protesting against the EU-Mercosur trade agreement currently being negotiated, Carrefour stores in France will not sell meat from countries in this South American economic bloc.
According to the Brazilian daily “Folha de Sao Paulo”, the main reaction to this announcement was Beef wholesalers in Brazil stopped deliveries of meat to the stores of the French chain. These reports were confirmed by some Brazilian food producers. Carrefour, on the other hand, denied this information, calling it “unfounded”.
Brazilian officials and entrepreneurs expressed outrage over Bompard's declaration, which they perceived as undermining the quality and standards of meat production in Brazil. Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro called the suggestions “absurd.” – The most valuable thing we have is the sanitary quality of our meat. It was she who opened up so many markets in the world for us, he emphasized.
In this context, the Folha de Sao Paulo daily assessed Carrefour's Tuesday announcement as a “withdrawal” from this criticism after the boycott by Brazilian wholesalers. The newspaper noted that although Carrefour did not declare a change in its decision not to sell meat products from Mercosur in France, it now emphasized the “high quality and taste” of Brazilian meat.
EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement
Work on the free trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries has been ongoing for over 20 years. Negotiations on the trade component were largely concluded with a political agreement in 2019. The current talks focus on sustainable development issues and are still ongoing. At this moment, a comprehensive and final proposal for the agreement has not been submitted to the EU Member States for approval.
European Commission Believes that the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement will bring benefits for the EU as a whole, in particular as regards the industrial sector, maritime transport, but also benefits for certain segments of agri-food production.
Talks between the EU and Mercosur have recently resumed. The EU-Mercosur agreement is expected to be signed during the Group Summit G20 in Rio de Janeiro, which will take place on November 18-19.
Poland against
On Tuesday, the Polish government adopted a resolution on the negotiations of a free trade agreement between the European Union and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), presented by the Minister of Development and Technology.
“The Council of Ministers expresses opposition to the current results of negotiations between the European Union and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) in the area of agriculture. This applies in particular to the increase in customs quotas for meat,” it was written.
In Poland's opinion, the current shape of the negotiated trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur countries does not take into account the need for a balanced approach to the EU's economic competitiveness, taking into account both the interests of industry and the Polish agricultural sector.
Council of Ministers called on the European Commission to pay special attention to the need to secure equal conditions of competition for agricultural producers from the EU, including Poland, and Mercosur, and to adapt the provisions on the bilateral protection clause in the draft agreement to the specificity of the agricultural sector.
Mercosur – Common Market of the SouthPAP/Maciej Zieliński
Main photo source: defotoberg/Shutterstock