• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

EU bans Brazilian beef

PORKER

Well-known member
EU bans Brazilian beef, farms not approvedReuters Wednesday January 30 2008

By Darren Ennis
BRUSSELS, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Brazilian beef will be banned from the EU as of Thursday following failure to agree a list of approved farms in the world's biggest exporter of the meat, the trade bloc's health chief said on Wednesday.
Brazil's exports of beef were worth some $4.2 billion in 2007.
"There is no positive list (of approved holdings) for the time being ... at this stage there will be no holdings authorised to export (beef) to the EU," EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou told a news conference.
"But of course this can change in the next few days. But yes, as of January 31 there will be no list," he told Reuters afterwards.
Checking each holding would be a lengthy process, he said.
The EU restrictions follow intense lobbying by European farmers, particularly Irish and British cattle ranchers, to ban Brazilian beef imports, which have grown sharply in recent years.
European producers say Brazilian beef does not meet the strict standards laid down for Europe's farmers, notably tagging and rules governing the movement of animals.
In December, the EU executive announced it was tightening restrictions on imports of beef from the Latin American powerhouse from the end of January and that only those export sources on an EU list would be authorised to export.
A European Commission source had said earlier on Wednesday that around 300 Brazilian holdings, or 3 percent of ranchers, were expected to be given permits to export beef to the 27-member bloc.
Kyprianou confirmed that had been "the original plan" but Brazil had come up with too many proposed farms for the authorised list and the EU would need more time to check them.
"We had envisaged roughly around 300 holdings being allowed to export into the EU, based on previous inspections and information from the Brazilians," he told Reuters.
"The Brazilians, however, have now come forward with a greater list which of course then means we have to take more time," he added.
STRONG DOUBTS
A Commission official said Brazil proposed a list on Tuesday of some 2,600 holdings.
"This list raises great concerns for us. We have strong doubts about this list," the official said.
Kyprianou said the EU executive had not decided what way to proceed regarding the authorisation process.
"We may decide to allow some farms on the list without sending an inspection team depending on what evidence the Brazilian's have sent us because as you know we have only recently had an inspection there," he said.
"We have also to decide whether to allow farms on a holding by holding basis or wait until we have a significant number on the list. We will know more in the next few days."
The next EU inspection mission is not expected to travel to Brazil until the end of February "at the earliest", the Commission official said.
The Irish Farmers' Association said it welcomed "the resolute action taken by Commissioner Kyprianou".
(Additional reporting by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Dale Hudson and Michael Roddy)
 

PORKER

Well-known member
EU to ban Brazilian beef imports
20 hours ago

BRUSSELS (AFP) — The European Union will suspend all imports of Brazilian beef from Thursday after Brazil failed to provide sufficient guarantees on their safety, the European Commission said.

Last month the EU warned Brazil, the world's biggest beef exporter, that only beef from an authorised list of Brazilian farms would be allowed into EU nations from the end of January.

Such a list could not be agreed on and therefore "at this stage as we speak, there will be no holdings authorised to export to the European Union," EU Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said.

"This move must be seen as a wake-up call to the Brazilian government, which has failed to respond to concerns of the European Union," said MEP Neil Parish, chairman of the European Parliament's agriculture committee.

The EU decided the measures were necessary after inspections last November found Brazil's animal health and traceability systems failed to meet EU requirements on farm registration, animal identification and movement controls.


After the initial EU warning, the Brazilian authorities came up with a list of 2,600 farms they said deserved to be exempt from the export ban.

Such a massive list was unacceptable to the European authorities and hence the blanket ban on Brazilian beef following further investigations.

Kyprianou held out the possibility of a list of authorised Brazilian beef suppliers being gradually drawn up, while warning it would be a lengthy process.

"The timeframe depends on the number, and on the complexities and the problems that we may suspect in each holding," he said.

Last month Brazil slammed as "unjustified" the original EU decision to put restrictions on its beef imports.

It argued that Brazilian beef presented no risk to humans or animals and blamed the EU decision on tougher European regulations imposed in the wake of Britain's "mad cow" disease epidemic.

The original misgivings over the beef, particularly strong in Britain and Ireland, centred around problems of traceability of origin and the control of livestock movements.

The EU is insisting in particular that cows be kept on approved sites for at least 40 days before being sent to the abattoir.

The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) welcomed the decision.

IFA President Padraig Walshe said it was the result of a determined two-year campaign highlighting Brazil's failure to meet EU standards.

"Brazil had failed on foot and mouth disease controls, movement and traceability, border controls and animal health, welfare, and food safety issues." he said.

"Kyprianou had no option but to apply a full ban as Brazil had failed to comply with EU requirements," he added.

Three Brazilian states, hit by foot-and-mouth, are already subject to a beef ban by the EU.

Brazil is the world's biggest beef exporter, sending abroad almost 2.3 million tonnes per year, a third of total exports around the globe.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Breaking Rural News : LIVESTOCK

EU bans all Brazilian beef imports
Saturday, 2 February 2008

The European Union (EU) has banned all Brazilian beef exports for an undefined period of time, effective from January 31.
The EU has rejected the list of certified farms to export to the EU provided by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA) SISBOV database.


In December 2007, after a technical mission to inspect traceability and food safety in Brazil, the EU determined that MAPA should provide a list with all the farms meeting EU’s traceability requirements.

The EU suggested that this list should name around 300 farms, but the final list provided by MAPA included 2,681 farms.

The EU is doubtful about the criteria used for the selection of the appropriate farms.

It questions the effectiveness of all farms inspected.

Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) says the EU ban will probably result in a small increase in competition from Brazil against Australian beef in the Middle East, North Africa and selected Asian markets, such as the Philippines, Hong Kong and Singapore.

However, much of the displaced Brazilian export beef could be easily soaked up by the expanding Russian and local Brazilian markets, the MLA says.

The ban on EU imports from Brazil will only be reconsidered after a new technical inspection visit, which will begin on February 25.

As a result of this development, there has been a drop in the share prices of the main Brazil exporting meatpackers of around 0.6-4pc.

Cattle prices fell around 3pc in the physical market and February futures contracts also dropped.

Brazil’s beef exports to the EU in 2007 totalled 196,054 tonnes swt.

These figures represent 15pc of total Brazil's unprocessed beef exports by volume and 32pc of total beef export revenue, respectively.

However, exports to the EU represent only around 3pc of total Brazilian beef production.

The ban could result in a small increase in EU beef prices (Brazilian product accounted for 3-4pc of total EU consumption), particularly in the Netherlands, Italy and the UK.

However, Australian beef exports to the EU are capped at a small 7,150 tonne quota.

No major exporting country (with the exception of Argentina) can afford to pay the huge above-quota tariff (as Brazil has been doing for much of its exports).

SOURCE: MLA markets news
 

Silver

Well-known member
Looks to me like this could be an opportunity for us to take advantage of our fancy schmancy traceback system and get our foot in the door. Somehow I doubt our illustrious leaders will be all over this though.
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
Silver said:
Looks to me like this could be an opportunity for us to take advantage of our fancy schmancy traceback system and get our foot in the door. Somehow I doubt our illustrious leaders will be all over this though.

You're right, Silver. However, if your leaders don't take advantage, they shouldn't be your leaders.
 

Silver

Well-known member
Sandhusker said:
Silver said:
Looks to me like this could be an opportunity for us to take advantage of our fancy schmancy traceback system and get our foot in the door. Somehow I doubt our illustrious leaders will be all over this though.

You're right, Silver. However, if your leaders don't take advantage, they shouldn't be your leaders.

Ah, the fresh faced enthusiasm of the young and naive. :wink:

I think you well know how difficult it is to affect change. And even then oftentimes the change is no better. But, we keep trudging onwards and forwards 'cuz when it comes down to it we don't know what else to do or which other way to go.
 

Mrs.Greg

Well-known member
Sandhusker said:
Silver said:
Looks to me like this could be an opportunity for us to take advantage of our fancy schmancy traceback system and get our foot in the door. Somehow I doubt our illustrious leaders will be all over this though.

You're right, Silver. However, if your leaders don't take advantage, they shouldn't be your leaders.
You know Sandhusker...there are times you say something that TOTALLY blows the stupidity whistle
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
Mrs.Greg said:
Sandhusker said:
Silver said:
Looks to me like this could be an opportunity for us to take advantage of our fancy schmancy traceback system and get our foot in the door. Somehow I doubt our illustrious leaders will be all over this though.

You're right, Silver. However, if your leaders don't take advantage, they shouldn't be your leaders.
You know Sandhusker...there are times you say something that TOTALLY blows the stupidity whistle

Leaders are only leaders if somebody follows.
 

Silver

Well-known member
Mrs.Greg said:
Silver said:
Hey Mrs. Greg.... he just did it again didn't he? :lol:
:agree:

He's such a humorless, banker type isn't he Mrs. Greg??? You suppose we oughta wrastle 'im down and tickle 'im fer a spell? I mean, one would think with an avatar like he's got he'd either be funny or Canadian (or both :shock: ) Mike Myers would be sooooo unimpressed. :wink:
I guess we shouldn't be too hard on though Mrs. G., it's nice to have someone around that's so easy to whip in an argument. :lol:
 

Silver

Well-known member
The biggest part of that hurdle is crossed, if we were to get serious about a market such as the EU the rest would just be semantics.
I don't believe it would be necessary at this point anyway.... Brazil had made no such promises that I'm aware of, and that isn't THE reason their beef got banned.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
The EU decided the measures were necessary after inspections last November found Brazil's animal health and traceability systems failed to meet EU requirements on farm registration, animal identification and movement controls.
No traceability from the store package code on every package.
 

Silver

Well-known member
Well Porker, I haven't seen where they have said they need farm to fork traceability. I may be wrong. Farm registration (we have that), animal identification (we have that) and movement controlls (we have that too.... near as I can figure) is not the same as farm to fork traceability (ie: you cant pick up a pound of hamburger at the store and then go out and meet the 300 different cow owners it came from).
However, with our system when that animal is slaughtered and inspected, if there is a problem at that point you can go right back to the producer and it apears to me that that is what the EU is looking for.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Silver, been over in the German countryside and when you go to the meat counter ,either the producers name ,address, phone, and or code for the animal is on your package of meat. ScoringAg codes are on alot of packages. If you want a big chuck of meat ,they will hand you the slaughter tag with date and farmer who raised the animal. This was south of Munich ,Ger.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Brazilian beef banned after relentless fight


The EU's patience finally ran out with Brazil last week, when it announced a total ban on Brazilian beef exports.


Brazil had repeatedly claimed to have rectified problems with traceability and foot-and-mouth disease within its beef industry, but 12 successive reports by European inspectors have found that major flaws remain.

EU agriculture committee chairman, Neil Parish, said Brazil had submitted a list of some 2,600 holdings said to have been inspected and guaranteed.

He said a list of around 300 would have been expected in the time available to the Brazilian authorities.

Many of the holdings listed featured only the name and address and no further detail.

Beef finishers here must have breathed a sigh of relief on hearing the news. While many commentators say farmers should not expect a huge lift in prices, quotes from the factories yesterday suggested otherwise.

One farmer said he phoned a factory on Friday morning and was quoted 117p/lb for Us and 114p/lb for Os.

However, within the space of a few hours, the factory had phoned him back and offered him 121p/lb and 119p/lb to secure the cattle for Monday.

Whether this is a knee-jerk reaction to the ban or a sustained price lift remains to be seen.

Last year Brazil exported about 280,000 tonnes of beef to the EU and this deficit will have to be filled. However, there is a lot of Brazilian beef still on the high seas destined for the EU market, so it will be a number of months before the real impact is seen.

The IFA livestock team deserve huge credit for their part in achieving the ban. Their lobbying on the issue was relentless and despite being criticised for being a vested interest group, they continued to fight the cause for Irish beef farmers.

John Bryan and his team should take a well deserved bow.

- Maeve Dineen
 

Mike

Well-known member
Thanks to Russia and the US Brazil Beef Exports Grow Over 40%
Written by Newsroom
Monday, 07 May 2007
Brazilian exports of cattle beef generated US$ 1.4 billion in the first four months of 2007, an increase of 43.34% when compared to the same period last year, according to information disclosed today, May 7, by the Brazilian Beef Industry and Exporters Association (Abiec).

The volume shipped reached 888,000 tons, growth of 34.93% when compared to the period from January to April 2006.

Russia remained as the main buyer of Brazilian raw beef in the period, having purchased 230,000 tons for US$ 304 million. Egypt, in turn, is still in the second place, with 69,000 tons purchased for US$ 118 million.

Regarding industrialized meat, the United States were the main buyers, with 54,000 tons purchased for US$ 103 million. In second place came the United Kingdom, to where shipments reached 55,000 tons for US$ 58 million.

In April alone, Brazilian exports of cattle beef generated US$ 345 million, an increase of 39.41% when compared to the same month last year. The volume shipped was 212,000 tons, 37.35% more.
***********************************************
What the heck is "Industrialized Meat"? :???:
 
Top