Competition from huge South American farms is worried by many German farmers. Rightly right? A report from Germany and Argentina.
Food time for Gerhard Gruber’s cattle – the farmer in the Rottal -Inn district has more than 400 animals. A large company for southern German standards. Compared to the South American mega farms, even Gruber’s court looks tiny.
That is why the farmers are all “a bit angry” on the Mercosur Agreement, says Gruber. “The little Bavarian farmer, who is small -structured, has to stick to everything.” And those who have the large areas would have completely different conditions than him, says the cattle holder. “It doesn’t quite fit together.”
Worry about displacement
Gruber appeals something that many Bavarian farmers feel. With the free trade agreement between the EU and the Mercosur states (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay), the tariffs could be reduced to South American beef. And the mega farms there gradually displace the smaller European businesses, according to concern.
Conecar is such a mega operator. In Argentina, just a few kilometers away from Rosario, hometown of football star Lionel Messi. At Conecar, 12,000 cattle stand for the final fattening in so -called “feedlots”: these are external stalls in which many cattle are in a confined space and move as little as possible to gain a lot.
12,000 cattle in feedlots: and animal welfare?
The boss here is called Roberto Guercetti. He is looking forward to the agreement, he says: Argentina needs open markets. Guercetti has been preparing his business for this for years. He has a lot of certificates for high environmental standards and animal welfare hanging on the wall in his office. He points to it. Because European consumers in particular are easy to convince, he says.
Violent things are circulating in Europe about animal welfare standards in South American agricultural businesses: for example, that most animals are hormone -treated and are in their own dirt in the feedlots.
Roberto Guercetti on the cattle farm Carcarañá in Argentina: anticipation for the Mercosur agreement
Hormones also prohibited in Argentina
At least at Conecar, this cannot be confirmed: Due to the favorable climatic conditions, the animals can always stand outside, with enough space, make a healthy impression. And hormones are also prohibited in Argentina on the mast, as in Germany, says Mauricio Santucho, one of a total of seven veterinarians who are firmly employed in the company. In Argentina it is essentially like in Germany. Hormones must not be used for the mast.
Another, often heard concern: With the free trade agreement, Europe would be flooded by the amount of South American meat and the smaller local businesses would be lost because the tariffs on beef from the Mercosur states would be lowered from currently 40 to 60 percent.
Customs discount only for quota
But the import quantity is limited: 99,000 tons would be imported to the low customs sets – according to the EU Commission, this is not even two percent of the amount of beef that the EU itself produces. The original high customs sets would continue to apply to all imports that exceed 99,000 tons.
But not only the meat causes discussions. A particularly delicate point: pesticides. While European farmers are often subject to strict rules and require approval for each means, many active ingredients in South America are allowed that have long been banned in the EU – such as atrazine.
The real problem: pesticides
Studies and studies, for example from the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the “Pesticizer Date”, show: European chemical companies also export funds that have long been banned in the EU. With the Mercosur Agreement, tariffs would fall on pesticides – which could make their use even cheaper and more likely.
And which could also end up with products that come back to Europe; Soy and sugar, for example. Although the EU assures strict controls, how exactly this should look, it is still unclear. It is still being negotiated.
The Mercosur Agreement divides – it’s about profit, geopolitical interests and living standards. Getting that in harmony is the difficult task for Europe and the Mercosur countries.
