MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

EU bans Paraguayan beef

The European Union this week banned all beef imports from Paraguay after recording “serious problems” in the foot and mouth supervision and control measures. The decision was taken by the EU Food Chain and Animal Health Permanent Committee in Brussels following a proposal from the European Commission.

According to the Committee the drastic resolution is a direct consequence of the inspections done in Paraguay that revealed "gross breaches" in the sanitary controls regarding FAM and previously agreed by experts from the South American country and the European Union.

Since the original FAM 2001 outbreak that later extended to the whole of Mercosur member countries was proved to have began in Paraguay, the EU resolution is a "strong message" for this country's authorities regarding the commitment to combat the cattle disease and a warning to those who do not comply with sanitary conditions agreed.

The latest inspections by European experts in Paraguay showed that sanitary controls are "insufficient and inappropriate", particularly regarding the transport of cattle between areas authorized to export and those that are banned.

The EU ban will be reviewed once the Paraguayan authorities comply with the sanitary measures and ensure that the same breaches will not be repeated.

In Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, the president of the Rural Association said that "government and the private sector have twelve months to put the house in order. The ban will cost the country at least 20 million US dollars in exports to Europe".

However Alba Pettengil, manager of one of the country's main export abattoirs complained that most cattle breeders "don't even have an accountant to keep the books and many prefer to smuggle their cattle to Brazil where they can cash immediately and avoid paying taxes".