August 27, 2007

 

Head of Brazil's Abiec alleges beef ban is protectionist
 

 

The head of the Brazilian Beef Exporters Association, or Abiec, Friday (Aug 24) alleged that an overseas ban on Brazilian beef was still in place for protectionist reasons and not because of health concerns.

 

The World Organisation for Animal Health, known commonly by the French acronym OIE, banned beef exports from three beef-producing states in Brazil following outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in October 2005.

 

"Foot-and-mouth disease is an economic disease," said Antonneio Jorge Camardelli, Abiec's executive director. "The ban on British meat and livestock exports to the European Union was lifted after only three weeks, but our beef is being banned for two years now," he added.

 

British meat and livestock exports to the EU were banned earlier this month after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in southern England was confirmed on Aug 3, but the ban was lifted on Thursday.

 

Brazilian and UK beef exporters compete against each other in the EU market.

 

Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil's No. 1 ranching state, suffered an outbreak of the disease in October 2005. When cattle transported from Mato Grosso do Sul to the state of Parana were also found to be infected, the OIE ban was expanded to Parana. The OIE also banned beef from the state of Sao Paulo because it imports much of its cattle from Mato Grosso do Sul.

 

Brazil's beef exporting industry estimates that it has lost US$2 billion as a consequence of the ban, domestic newspaper Gazeta Mercantil reported Friday.

 

Camardelli said Brazilian beef exporters have also lost market share.

 

"We had managed to open new markets such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Canada, the US and Mexico for Brazilian beef. But then the ban came, and we lost market share in these high-price markets," he said.

 

Brazil's beef exporters have been able to limit their losses by exporting beef from not-banned states such as Minas Gerais and Goias, Abiec's executive director said.

 

"The Brazilian government supported us during this difficult time, and helped us to convince some beef importing countries to lift the ban," he said.

 

Iran, Egypt and Israel have lifted their bans and will now begin importing beef from Mato Grosso do Sul and Parana.

 

Brazil's Agriculture Ministry said Wednesday that it hopes that the OIE will lift its export ban by the end of this year.

 

But Camardelli commented that he does not believe it will happen that early.

 

"Maybe in 2008, but not this year," he said. An EU commission will visit Brazil in October, said Camardelli, "and maybe that visit will bring some advances. But surely not this year."

 

Brazil is the world's No. 1 beef exporter. The country exported 2.4 million tonnes to world markets last year. Abiec expects that number to rise by about 10 percent in 2007 to slightly more than 2.6 million tonnes.