Carrefour's CEO will boycott Mercosur meat in France
Alexandre Bompard, CEO of the Carrefour Group, has sent a letter to the presidents of the main French agricultural unions in which he assures that his chain will not sell meat from Mercosur.
Bompard thus shows his solidarity with French farmers and ranchers, who have demonstrated against the imminent agreement between the European Union and the economic block that brings together Argentine, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The free trade agreement could lead to "the overflow onto the French market of meat production that does not comply with its requirements and standards," he argued in the letter.
The French manager wants to play with both decks, but the move could end up costing him dearly.
On the one hand, it is seeking to appear to the French public as a defender of the primary sector, a move it could benefit from in France. On the other hand, however, Brazil and Argentine together account for more than a quarter (27.2%) of the group's gross sales, and Carrefour's customers in these countries will probably not look favourably on an initiative that attacks one of its most emblematic export sectors.
With 22.7% of gross sales, Brazil is Carrefour's second most important market after France, while the group has recently announced major investments in Argentine, where it is already the leading foreign company in terms of number of employees in the country.
Many are wondering whether this move will not lead to a counter-boycott of Carrefour in the South American countries mentioned above, which have opened their doors to French investment but expect corresponding treatment in return.
Furthermore, it will be difficult to communicate why Mercosur meat is good for French consumers in these countries, but not in France.
ABPA's answer
The Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA) regrets the unfortunate and unfounded statement by Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bompard, in a note published on the social network X in which he uses erroneous arguments when saying that meat produced by Mercosur member countries does not respect the criteria and standards of the French market.
The argument is clearly used for protectionist purposes, echoing an erroneous view of local producers against the necessary balance of supply of products from their own market – which is achieved through complementarity, with high-quality products that meet all the criteria determined by the health authorities of the importing countries, as is the case with Brazilian protein.
Bompard's statement goes against the logic of a global organization, with a strong presence in Brazil, which must act within the principles of competitiveness and respect for the free market.
Finally, ABPA reminds us that protectionism is also an attitude of disrespect for the principles of sustainability. By promoting the unjustified blockade of products from regions with better production capacity with respect to environmental issues, Mr. Bompard places consumers in his stores in a consumption logic with more emissions and under greater inflationary pressure and less access for the less favored classes.
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