A statement from the global CEO of Carrefour ()Alexandre Bompard, about the suspension of the purchase of meat from Mercosur provoked intense reactions in the Brazilian agricultural sector. Almost a week later, on Tuesday (26), the executive’s message arrived in a letter addressed to the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil, Carlos Fávaro, generating a reaction of appeasement towards entities in the sector.
The beginning of crisis involving Carrefour and Brazilian meatpackers took place during the G20 Summit. The meeting between the world’s greatest leaders brought to light the future of Mercosur-European Union Agreement. In the midst of decades-long negotiations, the treaty faces resistance from countries such as France, which conditions its approval on stricter environmental requirements.
There, producers protest under the fear of losing market with the facilitation of South American meat exportsputting pressure on companies like Carrefour. However, experts and industry representatives criticize the global CEO’s stance, classifying it as unfounded and protectionist.
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It was in a letter addressed to the president of National Federation of French Farmers’ Unions (FNSEA)Arnaud Rousseau, that Bompard “made a commitment” not to sell meat from Mercosur due to “the risk of flooding the French market with meat that does not meet its requirements and standards”.
Trade agreement, environmental laws and French agriculture
Although the Brazilian meatpackers boycott of Carrefour pressured the group to apologize, both the initial letter and the retraction note fail to specify what the unmet “requirements and standards” pointed out by the global CEO would be. Leonardo Munhoz, professor and researcher at the Bioeconomy Center at FGV Agro, highlights that There is no basis to support this claim.
“Brazilian environmental legislation, together with the Forest Code, is much stricter than that of many European Union countries, including France”
Munhoz also emphasizes that the meat exported by Brazil it already meets stricter standards than those practiced internally in European countries. “Carrefour’s initial statement was irresponsible, without technical basis and based on misinformation, which led to this retaliation.”
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However, there is a background that provides the context of the position adopted by the supermarket group. One trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union must expose the European producer the competitiveness of the Brazilian agriculture. “The European agricultural sector, especially the French one, has always been protected by subsidies and more flexible regulations”, points out the FGV Agro researcher.
It is no coincidence that the agreement, which has been under negotiation for more than 20 years, faces resistance led by the French agricultural lobby. Still, the discussion between the two blocks must continue. The matter heated up again with the G20, last week, with other European countries, declaring their interest in concluding the agreement.
Carrefour’s apology
In the publication that started the crisis between Carrefour and Brazilian meatpackersthe group’s global CEO said he hopes to inspire other actors in the agri-food sector. “And boost a broader movement of solidarity, in addition to the role of distribution, which already leads the fight in favor of French origin of meat that it sells,” said Bompard. The original text, in French, can be seen below.
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On Tuesday (26), Carrefour, through a statement from its French headquarters, said that it buys the meat it sells in France almost exclusively from local producers. The meat sold in Brazil comes from Brazilian livestock farmers.
“We know that Brazilian agriculture provides high quality meat, respect for standards and flavor. If communication from Carrefour France it generated confusion and could have been interpreted as questioning our partnership with Brazilian agriculture and as a criticism of it, we apologize”, says the note signed by Bompard to minister Carlos Fávaro.
In response, the minister stated that the CEO of Carrefour, Alexandre Bompardwas corrected in time. “Episode overcome”, he declared to journalists. The same positive reaction was presented by associations linked to the agribusiness sector.
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“The agroindustry in Brazil welcomes the apology and recognition of the excellence of the product and the Brazilian producer by the Global CEO of Carrefour. We hope that, with this, the operations of the French network will be reestablished”, says the Brazilian Association of Meat Exporting Industries (Abiec).
The Brazilian Agribusiness Association (Abag), also through a note, stated that the retraction of Carrefour CEO gives fair recognition to the Brazilian agricultural sector. “To your professional conduct focused on productivity and sustainability, which respects standards and gives rise to quality food that supplies chains around the world”, highlights the statement, which adds: “this must be the atmosphere for such a commercial agreement strategic and with great advantages for both parties is finally consolidated.”
HAS CNNthe president of Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA)Ricardo Santin, said that the crisis has been calmed. “It was an unfortunate statement and is based on archaic and retrograde protectionism on the part of French producers,” he said.
O InfoMoney tried to contact the Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA)but there was no response until the publication of this text. The space remains open for the entity to manifest itself.
Environmental protection or trade protectionism?
For Leonardo Munhoz, professor and researcher at FGV Agro, the episode should not cause major impacts on Brazilian agribusiness — both because there is no basis for criticizing the standards, and because European consumption accounts for less than 5% of Brazilian meat exports.
“This decision by Carrefour in France has little effect on Brazilian agriculture as a whole”
The researcher says he hopes that the slaughterhouses’ boycott of the French group will set a precedent so that European companies be more careful when criticizing Brazilian production based on environmental protection. A month ago, it was the French Danone that declared that it would not buy Brazilian soy because it prioritizes “sustainable ingredients”.
“Like Carrefour, Danone did not specify which norms or rules Brazil supposedly does not comply with, in a form of ‘protectionism’ for local producers”, says Munhoz. Still, a warning point for Brazilian agriculture will be the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which comes into force in 2026. “Brazil is ahead in terms of environmental laws, but will need to implement more efficient tracking systems in case of soybean production.”
