After protests, the French chain backtracked and admitted ‘the excellence of Brazilian meat’; in a statement, Abiec highlighted that the ’emphatic defense of the sector will always be our focus’
(Abiec) praised the apology and public recognition made by the global CEO of , Alexandre Bompard, regarding the quality of the Brazilian brand and the competence of its producers. The entity sees the gesture as an important step towards the normalization of the French network’s operations. “We hope that, with this, the operations of the French network will be reestablished”, said the association in an excerpt of the note.
In the note, the association reiterated that defending the sector and commitment to consumers, national and international, remains a priority. “Brazilian agroindustry stands out in the world and meets the highest quality, health and environmental standards of the most demanding markets globally”, stated Abiec, which sought to highlight the productivity and responsibility of the national agroindustry, which positions Brazil as a “reference global” in the supply of high quality meat.
Bompard apologized to the Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, for a statement made last week, when he stated that the Carrefour operation in France would stop purchasing meat from Mercosur countries. The document, sent by the French Embassy to the ministry, states that “Brazilian agriculture provides high quality meat, respect for standards and flavor”. Bompard’s letter should put an end to a crisis between the Carrefour Group and Brazilian agribusiness, especially the national meat industry.
In retaliation for the statement, slaughterhouses suspended the supply of meat to Carrefour in Brazil and conditioned the resumption of supply on a public retraction by Bompard. In parallel, the Carrefour Group published a statement on its official website, stating that it had never opposed Brazilian agriculture to French agriculture.
Published by Luisa Cardoso
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
