Defense of Competition analyzes whether the arrival of the Brazilian company in the slaughter market will cause a concentration effect.
The Commission for the Promotion and Defense of Competition of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) resolved to request additional information from government authorities and representatives of the meat sector to analyze the possible effects of concentration that the acquisition of the refrigerator would entail Breeders and Packers Uruguay (BPU) by the Brazilian company Minerva Foods.
He MEF requested the data amid the concern of the producers, who assure that with this purchase, confirmed on January 31 of this year by 40 million dollars, two Brazilian multinationals such as Minerva Foods and Marfrig come to own 51% of the national bovine slaughter market.
Through a statement on its official site, Competition Defense He anticipated that he was going to request information “from the main refrigeration groups in the country, in addition to INAC, MGAP, Chamber of the Meat Industry, Association of the Meat Industry of Uruguay, Association of Livestock Shippers and the Union of Meat Sellers of Uruguay”.
The Commission explained that it will take “into consideration the importance of the sector and that the concentration could consolidate another group as another of the main market agents.” could be issued on the matter in the middle of next month according to the company specialized in agribusiness Blasina y Asociados.
Producers believe that it can affect free competition
After the purchase of the BPU by Minerva, the meat sector expressed its concern and the INAC filed the presentation before the MEF, considering that the acquisition could affect free competition in the sector. Even more so taking into account the reality that meat exports continue to decline in the country.
Specifically, the producers warned that Minerva would be able to occupy 24.6% of the beef slaughter market with this purchase, since it already has three refrigeration plants (PUL, Carrasco and Cannelloni). To that, they added those of the company Marfrig, from the same country, bringing the market share in Brazilian hands to 51%.
even, the Vice President of INAC, Guido Machado, He had stated that care must be taken to avoid “situations of market seizure”. For this reason, he considered that the Uruguayan government has the responsibility of defending the 45,000 producers who generate the meat that is industrialized and marketed through the meat processing industry.
Source: Ambito
