Brazil-EU Farmers resent Brazilian beef.

BRAZIL- HERE WE GO AGAIN.

BRAZILIAN cattle ranchers should be subject to the same standards of traceability, say UK beef farmers.

That was the message NFU vice-president Paul Temple took to Brazil’s beef exporters during a recent trip to the South American powerhouse.

Brazil has 180 million head of cattle and recently announced plans to double beef exports and to dominate world exports within the next 10 years.

Mr Temple said the principle of expansion was all very well, as long high standards of traceability could be maintained.

"European producers are not necessarily fearful of trade with Brazil, but we do expect Brazilian producers to be subject to the same rules and traceability standards as we are," he told the president of the Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock.

European farming leaders have long questioned the standard of Brazil’s traceability.

Last October an EU Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) mission to Brazil identified ’serious failings’ in Brazil’s traceability standards.

Chairman of the Irish Farmers Association livestock committee Michael Doran said the FVO report found ’none of the Brazilian certifiers met during the mission had counted the animals or read ear tags during their visits to approve and inspect the holdings for export to the EU’.

He called for a ban on Brazilian beef imports until their system improved.

The EU did ban imports of beef from three Brazilian provinces in 2005 following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and, more recently, restricted imports to the EU in light of the FVO’s concerns.

But despite continued question marks that hang over traceability most exporters have been given the all clear to resume trade – the UK imported 56,000 tonnes of Brazilian beef in 2008.

A spokesman at the Brazilian Embassy said: "We have made tremendous efforts to sort our traceability system and now go well beyond the requirements of World Organisation for Animal Health."