AVEC, the Association of Poultry Processors and Poultry Trade in the EU has sounded the alarm about the consequences for the poultry industry of a trade deal between the EU and Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay), which was approved in a vote by EU member states last week. In order to pass into law the deal will now have to be approved by the European Parliament.
The organisation said it “strongly deplored” the result of the member states vote.
The deal would have “significant and lasting consequences for the European poultry sector,” AVEC said, particularly when considered in the context of the cumulative impact of existing and forthcoming trade agreements.
“Already today, more than 25% of poultry breast meat consumed in the EU originates from third countries,” the organisation said. “With the quotas foreseen in Mercosur agreement (180,000t), total imports would represent 9% of total EU poultry consumption, placing unsustainable pressure on EU producers who are subject to the world’s highest standards in terms of food safety, animal welfare, environmental protection and social rules.
AVEC said it hoped members of the European Parliament would reject the agreement.