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Prvt. Cartel Manipulate Brazil Beef Mkt.

Econ101

Well-known member
DJ Brazil Anti-Trust Official Says Beef Cos Formed Cartel



Agriculture Online

2:11 PM, February 14, 2007



SAO PAULO (Dow Jones)--A top official from Brazil's Anti-Trust Department,

known as CADE, said eight of Brazil's top beef exporters formed a price fixing

cartel, a CADE spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday.



The business daily Valor Economico reported Wednesday on the unnamed

official's comments, which were made Jan. 31.



"This is just his opinion. No judicial action has been made against these

companies," said Adriana Barcellos Bohrer, a press official for CADE.



Of the eight companies, two are Brazil's top two beef exporters, Friboi and

Bertin Group.



The case will be reviewed by federal prosecutor's office in Brasilia. No date

has been set for the case. The companies could be subject to a fine of between

1% to 30% of corporate revenues if found guilty of anticompetitive practices.



Cattle ranch lobbyists at the National Confederation of Agriculture brought

the charges to the Consumer Protection Division of Brazil's Justice Ministry in

March 2005. The cartel investigation is the largest of its kind in Brazil's

meat industry. Brazil is the world's No. 1 beef exporter.





-By Kenneth Rapoza; Dow Jones Newswires



agriculture.com






NMA: Friboi Buys Controlling Interest In Largest Argentine Meat Company

The purchase of the controlling interest in Swift Armour, Argentina's largest meat company, by Brazilian beef processor Friboi is seen by analysts as a further step toward consolidation of the international meat industry.

Friboi confirmed it was in the final stage of negotiating a deal that would give the privately-owned Brazilian company control of more than half the world's processed beef market, according to Reuters, Aug. 31.

Friboi, founded in 1953 in the center-west state of Goias, has 22 production plants, including 12 slaughter houses with capacity to slaughter up to 15,000 cattle daily. The company exports 44 percent of its meat output and has 250 clients in 70 countries. It has offices in the United States, England, South Africa, Egypt and Chile. Brazil's meat industry has grown rapidly in recent years to become the world's biggest exporter of beef and chickens in 2004 (overtaking both Australia and the United States) and is also the world's No. 4 pork exporter.

Analysts said that Brazil remains very competitive due to its favorable climate and its status as home to the world's largest commercial herd of an estimated 200 million head of cattle.
 
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