Allister welcomes ongoing scrutiny of Brazilian beef
27 January 2009
TUV MEP Jim Allister has said he welcomes the ongoing level of scrutiny of Brazilian beef by the European authorities. Last week, members of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee were updated by the Commission on the controls which are in place to ensure only meat which meets European standards can be imported.
The MEP said,
“At last, it seems EU officials are ensuring the high production standards being applied within Europe are being enforced on beef imports from Brazil –this is only fair, and something which I have been pressing for, for some time”.
“Only 733 farms in Brazil are currently permitted to export beef to the EU, compared with the 18,000 farms which could export prior to enforcement measures being introduced. This is a clear indication of the extent of non-compliance of EU standards which existed in South America before the European authorities were eventually forced into taking action.”
“I am led to believe that it will be some time before beef farms in Brazil make the necessary investment to be able to comply with EU standards, which is some positive news to local farmers in the short to medium term. The Commission also believes that the opening of the Russian market, where lower animal health requirements exist, will further delay Brazilian beef flooding onto the European market any time soon.”
ENDS
