EU move on beef imports

By Paul Mooney

The EU Commission is finally moving to avert the South American beef threat, it has emerged.

It is drawing up plans to try limit the escalating imports of Brazilian and other beef on to EU markets including Ireland.

At next month's WTO negotiations in Cantun, Mexico EU negotiators are now expected to seek a new overall, ceiling on all South American beef imports into the Community.

Commissioner Franz Fischler explains just how the new reforms will work following his proposals.

Critically, the plan is that this ceiling would apply to beef entering EU markets with payment of full tariffs.

Within the Commission, curtailing imports is increasingly seen as vital to ensuring market stability or even firming of prices after decoupling. Moves next month to control imports will also encourage member states such as Ireland to opt for full decoupling of beef production.

The rising beef imports are of active concern to the EU Commission. In recent weeks the EU Commission instructed the Department of Agriculture and other member state authorities to start tracking imports and detail them fully to Brussels. Brazil alone has more than twice the total number of cattle in the entire EU.

This concern was obvious in the discomfort of EU Farm Commissioner Dr Franz Fischler who was unable to provide satisfactory answers to probing farmer questions on this issue at Thursday's Irish Farmers Journal event in Kill, County Kildare - see full reports in News Feature section.

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