September 7, 2007

Brazil opposes UK's proposed ban on Brazilian beef

Brazil's Congressional Agricultural Commission made an official protest Wednesday (September 6) night against some UK Members of Parliament who asked the European Commission to ban Brazil beef imports earlier this week.

A Brazilian diplomat with close ties to European lawmakers told Dow Jones Newswires on Thursday that the Commission has not taken an official position following the protest.

On Monday, a handful of UK lawmakers asked the European Commission in Strasborg, France, the seat of the European Parliament, to ban Brazil beef because of alleged health risks.

"This was a restricted protest by some UK Members of Parliament and not a protest by the European Commission. Taking on Brazilian beef is not a motion or a measure of any kind," the official said.

The UK has been gunning for Brazilian beef since an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease occurred there several weeks ago due a viral escape from an animal vaccine testing laboratory.

Rancher lobbies have tried for the past year to convince Europe and UK consumers that Brazilian beef is unhealthy.

"The agricultural policies of the European Union have made ranching less lucrative, raising the price of (UK) beef and so ranchers there are losing market share (to Brazil)," Marcos Montes, president of Brazil's Agricultural Commission, told the local Estado newswire on Thursday.

Brazil is the world's leading beef exporter, and the EU is Brazil's No. 1 market, competing directly with UK's beef cattle industry.