Carrefour is one of the leading supermarket chains in the world. They have stores in at least 30 countries, including Brazil and Argentina in Latin America. They left Mexico in 2005 as part of a “global restructuring,” but I guess the truth is they could not compete with local chains and Walmart.
Last week, Alexandre Bompard, CEO of Carrefour Group posted on X that “in solidarity with the ag world, Carrefour is committed to not selling any meat from Mercosur” because of “the risk of overflowing the French market of meat production that does not meet requirements and standards.”
As the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA) stated, “the argument is clearly used for protectionist purposes” as Mercosur produces “high-quality products that meet all the criteria established by the health authorities of the importing countries, as is the case of Brazilian protein.”
Bompard has since retracted his statement and has said good things about Brazilian animal protein producers. But even though the statement was retracted, I think the damage was done.
No country would import any food product that did not comply with standards. Period.
Health authorities from importing countries visit and authorize plants, just like when foreign authorities inspect chicken processing plants in Brazil.
Come on! Who would import meat that does not comply with standards? Do they think that Mercosur countries are successful in exporting animal proteins just by chance?
What was striking is that their position on globalization is good for themselves, but not for others. They can spread their supermarkets over 30 countries, but they cannot import meat from Mercosur because of “lack of compliance.”
Bompard's statement bypassed the logic of a global organization, with a strong presence in Brazil and no respect to free market.
I would like to give a personal example, Carrefour fled Mexico overnight without paying debts to suppliers, which is what happened to our family business. Was this complying with regular agreements?
If France wants to protect their producers, that is fine. Just go ahead and do it, but do not use excuses. Simply say so. Do not blame it on something else.
What do you think?
