Rise in number of rejected imports of Brazilian beef

The European Commission has resisted pressure to ban imports of Brazilian beef in the wake of the scandal about sub-standard beef being exported, but the number of consignments turned back by EU member states has risen sharply, writes Richard Wright.

Reports say 29 consignments have been rejected over the past two weeks, which is more than for all of 2016.

Problems identified include salmonella in poultry and E coli in beef.

The European Commission is to propose the licence for glyphosate should be extended for 10 years.

This plan has not yet been approved by EU commissioners, and reports suggest some, including the farm commissioner Phil Hogan, want to see the licence extended for the full 15 years. This longer extension would be the norm but the commission is trying to placate activist groups that want a ban on glyphosate, despite it having been cleared as a carcinogen. Hogan and others believe this compromise goes against science-based decision making, but in the EU, politics invariably trump science. Socialist MEPs have threatened to press for an inquiry into this decision. Divisions are emerging over Brexit between some of the main farm lobby organisations in Europe. Copa-Cogeca, the body that represents farm unions and cooperatives says a hard Brexit would be a ‘catastrophe’ for European agriculture. This is because the UK imports significant amounts of food from eurozone countries. This view has been echoed by the main German farm union, DBV. It says the trade balance in the eurozone’s favour with the UK is more than four billion euros a year.

However some radical French farm unions are pushing for a tough line in negotiations that will force a hard Brexit. They see this as the best way to keep competitively priced UK farm products, including lamb, out of France.

The steady recovery in prices continued at the Fonterra Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction, with prices up 3.2%. This is the fifth auction since March that has delivered a price improvement, with the biggest increase for butter. It adds to a sense that global markets are in a stable recovery mode, although that recovery is far from spectacular. Markets remain vulnerable to changes in buyer sentiment.