The folly of over-relying on food imports from faraway fields in a post-Brexit scenario has been highlighted over the past few days by a scandal that has hit the Brazilian meat industry.

This follows a two-year police investigation into alleged unhygienic practices at a number of major processing plants. Over 30 people have been arrested and civil servants suspended after being suspected of accepting bribes to put health certificates on to meat exports, some of which could have been tainted.

Twenty-one Brazilian factories are under investigation, with four of these approved to export to the EU. In response, the EU has moved to suspend imports from these establishments. Two are poultry processors, one processes horsemeat and one is a beef-processing factory.

This highlights the fact that the EU is no longer a major export destination for Brazilian meat, and in the UK beef imports from Brazil have averaged around 4,200t per year over the past five years, which is only around 1.7% of imports.

However, more importantly for the Brazilian industry is the damage to its reputation, particularly in important market destinations such as China and Hong Kong.

Both of these countries have moved to suspend meat imports.

Reacting to the scandal, Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) president Barclay Bell backed calls for a complete ban on Brazilian meat imports into the EU, and called on the EU to withdraw from negotiations on a trade deal with the Mercosur countries of South America. Local MEP Diane Dodds said that any approach to a free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries should be “treated with the upmost caution”.

She also highlighted that farmers in NI can be hit with penalties for the late registration of calves, yet the EU is happy for farmers to compete with countries like Brazil who have a lot of questions to answer around their food supply chain.

See pages 12 and 13