The ban on Brazilian beef entering the EU creates an opportunity for higher beef prices as EU producers fill the void that will be left, IFA livestock chair Declan Hanrahan has said.

It comes as a ban came into effect on Thursday on Brazilian beef and poultry entering the EU, following the Mercosur nation’s failure to meet strict EU food-safety standards.

The South American country is currently unable to prove compliance with EU rules on antimicrobial use in food-producing animals.

The ban has come about following the extensive investigation carried out by the Irish Farmers Journal and the IFA in October and November last year, and the intensive lobbying campaign of key EU officials and MEPs on the back of that investigation.

Antibiotics

During that trip, prescription-only antibiotics were purchased over the counter without any form of identification or proof that the antibiotic was needed, exposing the illegal sale of antibiotics in the Mercosur country.

It also emerged earlier this year that Brazilian beef containing a banned hormone had entered the EU food chain.

The EU Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare Olivér Várhelyi committed to a thorough examination of the issues raised.

Commission officials were left with no alternative but to implement a ban on Brazilian beef entering the EU due to its failure to meet basic antibiotic-usage and antimicrobial requirements set down by the EU.

Hanrahan described this as a huge success for Irish and EU beef farmers, adding that such farmers must begin to see the benefits in higher farm gate beef prices, Hanrahan stated.