Farmers and co-ops fearful of EU trade talks with Latin American trade bloc Mercosur
Cop and Cogeca, representing European farmers and co-ops, also claimed other ongoing bilateral free trade negotiations could also have an adverse impact on the beef industry.
Jean Pierre Fleury, who is the chairman of the Copa and Cogeca Working Party on Beef and Veal, said there are serious problems on the market and the sector is very fragile.
“Cattle production is the only source of revenue for specialised beef producers where no other type of activity exists.
“EU farm incomes are on average half the average level and beef producers have particularly low incomes — around €14,000 a year.
“We therefore need a tool that can closely monitor the current situation and new trends, which should take the form of a beef meat market observatory, with regular meetings.
“We also need a dynamic export strategy and solutions for export, especially when some of our key trade partners keep their barriers in place, by involving the European Investment Bank,” he said.
Irish Farmers Association livestock committee chairman Henry Burns said a recent European Commission analysis shows that a Mercosur deal would inflict losses of €7.8bn on the agriculture sector but the real losses at farm level would be much higher.
He said beef production in Ireland is based on environmentally sustainable grassland systems which are much more efficient than South America in terms of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.
Brazil’s foreign trade deputy minister Daniel Godinho is meanwhile predicting that a trade deal between the Mercosur group and the EU could even be signed in 2016, bringing 20 years of sustained negotiations to a conclusion.
