December 20, 2007

EU agrees to impose restrictions on Brazilian beef

The European Commission has decided to enforce limitations on Brazilian beef imports, only allowing 300 farms to export into the region.

Final details of the restrictions were agreed last night and the commission will endorse the plan by the health and consumer affairs commissioner, Markos Kyprianou by this week.

The issue will then go to a meeting of the EU Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCA), which will draw up regulations to cover the partial ban.

At that meeting, the Irish representatives, on the instructions of the Minister for Agriculture, Mary Coughlan, will question the commission on why, in light of its own findings, a complete ban on beef imports is not being put in place, her spokesman said last night in Brussels.

The regulations are expected to become law on January 30th next but in the meantime, Brazilian imports will be allowed into the European Union and beef in transit will continue to arrive until March 15th next.

The Fine Gael spokesman on agriculture, Michael Creed, said he was disappointed that a full ban was not being put in place. He stated that failures to meet EU production standards have prompted the prevalence of foot-and-mouth-disease in the country.

The president of the Irish Farmers' Association, Padraig Walshe, said the EU was imposing the restrictions because of the fear generated by the Food and Veterinary Office mission in November.

Walshe said he would judge the outcome of the commission proposals against the principle of equivalent standards for product, whether produced within the EU or imported.