Leaders of the poultry industries of the United States and Brazil signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding in Cologne, Germany, during ANUGA, the world’s largest food and beverage fair.
Joined by members of both organizations, Jim Sumner, president of the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council (USAPEEC), and Francisco Turra, president of the Brazilian Chicken Producers and Exporters Association (ABEF), signed the MOU during the hustle and bustle of ANUGA, the world’s largest food and beverage fair.
Although the two industry organizations, whose members account for nearly 80 percent of global poultry exports, have talked about such an agreement for some time, Sumner and Turra set the wheels in motion in August during a meeting between the two in Brazil.
“Our industry strongly supports the concepts stated in the MOU,” Sumner said. “We will continue to agree to disagree, because after all, we remain competitors above everything else. But under the terms of the MOU, we agree to work cooperatively on issues of mutual concern.”
Turra agreed. “This document means simply that the industries of the U.S. and Brazil believe that by working together we can overcome many challenges that we face globally, such as the environment, animal welfare, and global trade barriers. Even though we are fierce competitors, this does not prevent us from collaborating on those issues that affect our ability to trade.”
Under terms laid out in the MOU, USAPEEC and ABEF agree to promote sound public policies on several key points, including ecologically sustainable guidelines for poultry production, science-based animal health and food safety regulations, the expansion of free trade, and promoting relations based on cooperation instead of confrontation.