The Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries referred again to the trade barriers that national producers must face.
He Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and fishing (MGAP), Fernando Mattosregretted the repeated refusals of the European Union (EU) for the import of lamb meat with bone from Uruguaywithin the framework of what is understood as a “growing trend” of protectionism at a global level.
Last Friday, at the launch of the 2024-2025 sheep season at the premises of the Rural Association of Paysandúthe head of the MGAP referred in a press conference to the trade barriers that national producers must face when entering the EU.
“In Europe We have a quota for sheep meat, but we have been repeatedly denied the possibility of accessing bone exports,” said the official, who believes that this “has little technical justification,” because “for many years, since 1988, sheep have not been vaccinated.”
In this sense, he explained that sheep “coexist with cattle” and that the Uruguay “It has all the viral circulation panels that prove that there is no viral circulation in the country.” “Therefore, being a sentinel species, it is evidence that there is absolutely no circulation of viruses and no health risks in this product.”
“We have already made four attempts with Europe throughout history. Yesterday I signed the fourth letter with the technical justification requesting again (that) the risk analysis for the entry of bone-in sheep meat into the EU be opened in scientific discussions and with technical parameters,” he said.
“It’s a political decision”
According to Mattos, the authorization of bone-in sheep meat in the old continent is something that the MGAP must “insist on” at a political level. “These barriers that the markets impose in a growing trend of protectionism at a global level, fundamentally in agricultural trade, and that affect market products, must be based on scientific evidence that Europe is not respecting in this instance, due to a purely political decision.”
“That is why we are going to insist, and yesterday we signed the letter again to start a risk analysis,” the minister concluded. Mattos has already been critical of Europe in the past, when he pointed out the environmental demands of the regional bloc for the agricultural sector. “We cannot accept that the Europeans are the champions of environmental protection,” the minister said at the time.
Source: Ambito
