Crisis or scam? - Brazilian beef ban has local importers hopping mad
The European Commission unequivocally stated last week that it does not anticipate introducing any special measures in the Canary Islands to compensate for the ban on Brazilian beef imports in place in the EU as from February 1.
The ban comes after it was found that meat from that country, where Foot and Mouth disease is rife in many areas, does not meet EU standards.
As any shopper will know a large proportion of beef on sale here comes from Brazil. In fact some 80% of the 20,857 tonnes of imported fresh, refrigerated and frozen beef consumed in the islands each year comes from that country. You might even go as far as to say there is an exaggerated dependence on Brazilian beef in the archipelago. Local producers certainly would.
Just what the consequences will be once the stock dries up is anyone’s guess and the EC has not given any indication to date of how long the ban might last. Beef already on its way when the ban was imposed will be let in until the March 15 deadline.
An EC spokesman said in this respect “importers have a tendency to exaggerate the consequences of such situations” and there is no doubt that those consumers of a panicky disposition might well be stocking their freezer in anticipation of lean times ahead if they pay too much heed to the importers’ vociferous laments.
An alternative source of South American beef imports could be Argentina or Uruguay which are said to comply with EU regulations, though many consumers may be forgiven for a degree of scepticism as to the truth of that.
Those regulations mean that rearing and production should match the same environmental, animal welfare and safety requirements as beef produced here in Europe.
But as one British farmer wryly observed in the wake of the ban: “Anyone with an inkling of knowledge of beef rearing in South America will know just how much of nonsense such requirement demands are as regards that continent.”
As to the long-suffering shopper they might be forgiven for imagining, given the laxity of standards in Brazil and the massive production (543,000 tonnes of the stuff were shipped to Europe alone last year), that Brazilian beef would be cheaper. After all, it costs a dollar a kilo to produce compared with three dollars a kilo in the EU. But as he or she well knows, that is very far from being the case. The cost of Brazilian or EU beef is pretty much the same. And while scrutinizing the labels for prices you might come across some very curious information as I did last week in Mercadona: “Born in Poland, reared and slaughtered in Spain”.
There’s no doubt that given the price parity between Brazilan and European meat someone somewhere along this particular food chain, which in addition enjoys a handsome subsidy regime, is making a lot of money. An awful lot of money in fact. And one thing’s for certain, as sure as eggs is eggs, or even beef is beef, it isn’t the people at the sharp end, the ones involved in raising the herds.
The suspicion of profiteering has always fallen on two of the strongest and wealthiest links in the chain: the importers and the distributors.