Leitrim farmer blasts Mercosur 'It's a dangerous situation; I think the whole deal will have to be rewritten.'

A recall of Brazillian beef from EU markets due to the discovery of hormones in beef exported from Brazil to the EU has coincided with a report on the findings of an IFA /Irish Farmers Journal investigation on production standards for Brazilian beef.

Leitrim farmer and councillor Cllr Paddy O'Rourke spoke to the Leitrim Observer this week about his thoughts on the Mercosur trade deal and how it will affect the Irish market as well as the report. "The findings of the Farmers Journal-led investigation changes everything; it confirms what we suspected. I don't see how there is any way this deal can be ratified on the short-term while this cloud hangs over the safety of their food. Why does everyone else had to conform to not using these growth promoters etc. in order to make food safe and then it is being imported from elsewhere?"

He said that there will be a "loss to the Irish market" if they deal goes from through. "There might be risks attached to it but if someone walks down a shopping aisle and sees beef at a discount as opposed to beef from within the EU, people on tight incomes would opt for the cheaper option so there is a huge risk involved there."

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He said that while beef prices remain stable, the concern is that this may change if the Mercosur trade deal goes ahead and allows almost 100,000 tonnes of Brazilian beef into the European market from next month. "It hasn't really kicked in as of yet; beef is still at a fairly satisfactory price but once the 100,000 tonnes starts being imported into the EU, the view is that prices will drop. There is a support mechanism that the EU has in place but only if the price of beef drops by 10 per cent and losses are incurred by people involved in member states in the production of beef to the tune of 10 per cent. So if it drops 9.9 per cent, that support system doesn't trigger and it can drop 9.9 per cent the next year from a lower base; they can tweak this to suit themselves. It's a dangerous situation; I think the whole deal will have to be rewritten."

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He added: "The reality is that the big countries, France and Germany, are backing it and they want to dispose of their diesel cars with high emissions down in South America. That might sound a bit simplistic but that's what it boils down to. There are plenty of other products that those countries are producing that aren't environmentally-friendly, as well as motor cars; they may be only the tip of the iceberg. They want their products in countries where there is little regard for climate change. Not to mention the harm they are doing by chopping down forests in order to reclaim the land and grow grass to fatten cattle. It was always a bit slight of hand to bottle-neck into this period in the run-in to Christmas; I think don't MEP or cabinet ministers will stand for that. I'm hoping they will do something to protect us."