The MGAP undersecretary questioned the acquisition of Minerva but assured that the decision of the Competition Commission will be complied with.
The undersecretary of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP) —currently as interim minister while fernando mattos is out of the country Juan Ignacio Buffaexpressed concern about the concentration of the refrigeration industry in Uruguay from the purchase of Marfrig by Minerva, after the meeting called by the president Luis Lacalle Pou to analyze the topic.
Buffa said at a press conference that “any phenomenon of concentration in a few hands of the demand for cattle is always complex and can lead to situations of lack of competitiveness and alternative for producers”. According to the hierarch, this was the “emphasis” that MGAP placed in the meeting in executive tower, which was also attended by authorities of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and the president of National Meat Institute (INAC), Conrad Ferber.
The MGAP undersecretary also referred to the work of the Commission for the Promotion and Defense of Competition of the MEF, an organization that should analyze the issue —while the government had already announced that the decision regarding the operation of the Brazilian Minerva will be technical, and not political—, and stressed that “it is absolutely independent.”
“It is clear and notorious that, if the operation occurs, a concentration process will deepen. In this sense, we are going to support the work of the commission and wait for the results,” added Buffa, about the acquisition of three of the four Marfrig refrigerators in the country that the Brazilian company announced this week and that, if completed, would mean the possession of almost 45% of the local work in the hands of Minerva.
The necessary procedure for the transaction to be approved by the Commission for the Promotion and Defense of Competition began this Monday and the agency has 60 days to issue it.
The concern of Lacalle Pou
President Luis Lacalle Pou admitted the “worry” after the purchase of three of the four Marfrig plants by Minerva, as confirmed by Buffa, commenting on the focus of the meeting called urgently by the president in Torre Ejecutiva.
“The tone of the president’s call is one of concern,” said the interim head of the MGAP at the end of the meeting, pointing out that it is “an operation that has implications and an effect at an economic, social and productive level.”
buffa He pointed out that “it is up to the president to have first-hand all these evaluations and perspectives on the table” and indicated that “it is clear and notorious” that, in the event of the purchase being completed, “a concentration process will be deepened.”
Source: Ambito
