BRASILIA, Brazil (AP)—Carrefour, a supermarket giant, has faced backlash in Brazil, including a refusal to provide beef to its stores, for its support of French farmers protesting a trade deal between the European Union and the South American group Mercosur.
Last week, Alexandre Bompard, the CEO of Carrefour, declared on social media that the French company would no longer purchase beef from any of the Mercosur nations, which also include Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay. Because Mercosur beef has cheaper production costs due to fewer environmental and sanitary restrictions, Bompard argued that he agreed with French producers’ claims that it is an unfair competitor.
Other retailers were urged to do the same by the CEO.
Bompard’s action was deemed protectionist by Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, which said it was undertaken without any technical requirements.
The meatpackers in Brazil were also incensed by the ruling. Meatpackers were concerned that Carrefour’s move might harm Brazil’s reputation in other countries, even though France only accounts for a small portion of Brazil’s beef exports.
Last Friday, the massive grocery chain Carrefour in Brazil, which includes the massive food warehouse Atacadao, had its supply stopped by beef giants JBS and Marfrig. Minister of Agriculture Carlos F. Varo confirmed the boycott, but both businesses declined to respond to The Associated Press.
We agree with the meatpackers’ response. Fav ollo told the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper on Monday that if Brazil’s beef isn’t good enough for Carrefour’s shelves in France, it’s not good enough for Carrefour’s shelves in Brazil either.
Although there isn’t yet a beef shortage in stores, the Brazilian Carrefour Group addressed the boycott in a statement. It stated that it maintains a strong relationship and partnership with the Brazilian agriculture sector, with which it has respect and confidence.
Customers, particularly those who depend on the business to provide their homes with high-quality and ethical products, are impacted by the decision to halt the meat supply, the statement stated. In order to honor its commitments to its more than 130,000 Brazilian employees and the millions of Brazilian consumers nationwide, it is continuously seeking alternatives that will enable it to promptly restore the supply of meat to its stores.
The EU-Mercosur trade agreement, which would boost agricultural imports from South America to EU nations, serves as the conflict’s backdrop. Farmers in France worry that it will have an impact on their earnings. Negotiations have stalled since an initial agreement was struck in 2019 because of objections from various European nations.
The agricultural sector in Brazil is also concerned that if businesses are unable to demonstrate that their products are not connected to deforestation, the upcoming European Union Deforestation Regulation will ban the sale of products generated from forests within the EU’s 27 member states. Brazil’s biggest agricultural exports, cattle and soy, are included in its scope. According to MapBiomas, a nonprofit network, 90% of the deforested area since 1985 has been converted to pasture in the Amazon region, where over half of the nation’s cattle are grazed. Its implementation date is still unknown.
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