The Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee has heaped further pressure on the government to follow the EU’s ban on Brazilian meat imports due concerns around antibiotic usage.
A letter, sent by committee chair Alistair Carmichael MP on Tuesday, echoed concerns already voiced by the NFU and meat sector bodies the BMPA and AIMS that a failure by the UK to mirror the EU ban could lead Brazilian meat products to be diverted to the UK market and “out-compete UK-grown products within days”.
Such a turn of events could “undermine British farmers’ world-leading work in tackling antimicrobial resistance, which has required significant effort and investment over many years”, said Carmichael in the letter to Defra secretary Angela Eagle and business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
The EU ban on Brazilian products of animal origin, including beef and chicken, came into force today (3 September). It follows concerns by the bloc that Brazil did not meet the EU’s regulations on antibiotic usage in livestock supply chains.
While the ban will automatically apply to Northern Ireland due to its unique post-Brexit regulatory status, Great Britain is yet to follow the EU’s move, with Defra undertaking its own assessment into the risk of antibiotic resistance from imported Brazilian meat products – which is not due to be completed until the start of 2027.
British meat producers “who are expected to meet high standards here are understandably concerned about being placed at a disadvantage by imports that may not be subject to equivalent regulations”, Carmichael argued in the letter.
“While we understand that the EU’s action does not amount to a finding that Brazilian beef is unsafe, it nevertheless raises questions about whether sufficient assurances are in place to demonstrate compliance with antimicrobial requirements,” he added.
“In these circumstances, we believe there is a strong case for a precautionary approach unless and until full confidence can be established.”
Speaking to The Grocer last month, Brazilian exporters played down the threat of a flood of diverted product hitting the UK market in the event of the ban going ahead.
However, the risk was real, the committee suggested, and could “place additional pressure on domestic producers already facing significant challenges from rising input costs and other market pressures”.
More broadly, the committee was concerned continuing to allow Brazilian imports into the GB market “will create additional barriers to trade with the EU as Brazilian beef imported into Great Britain may not be eligible for onward export to the EU or movement into Northern Ireland – including where it is used in processed products”, Carmichael pointed out.
Given the government’s stated ambition for a common UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary area by June 2027, it was “not clear why a period of additional divergence is necessary in this case”, he stressed.
“Such divergence creates additional barriers to trade and further uncertainty for the food and farming industry at a time when businesses are looking for clarity.”
Efra is calling on the government to “set out what precautionary measures, such as additional testing, will be in place while the assessment of Brazil’s antimicrobial assurance system is being completed”.
It is also asking for more detail on whether the government has assessed the risk of Brazilian beef being diverted from the EU market to the UK, and the likely impact on domestic producers.
MPs on the committee additionally called for clarity on what implications Defra’s delay would have on UK-EU trade and SPS co-operation; and “why the government considers divergence from the EU’s approach appropriate in this case”.
Carmichael also raised the issue in the Commons after Andy Burnham’s first address to the house on Tuesday, to which the new PM said “all of these issues are on the table”.
Burnham’s response was “concerning”, Carmichael said, given the PM’s suggestion that British produce should be used more widely in UK public sector catering such as in schools and prisons.
“He seemed to grasp only the economic aspect of this issue rather than the paramount need to protect livestock from disease,” Carmichael added. “This is not just about food that is cheap but about food that is up to the same standards our British farmers work hard to achieve. We await Defra’s formal response to our letter, but action is needed urgently.”
No comments yet