Farmers in France, Bulgaria, Belgium and Poland have been protesting a new free trade deal between Europe and South American countries, World Grain wrote.
The landmark EU-Mercosur trade is expected to lead to a range of South American agricultural products being available on the European market, with farmers and others in the agricultural sector concerned about the deal’s potential impact, according to the 25 March report.
In a letter to national authorities in December 2024, the Bulgarian National Grain Producers Association had urged for negotiations on the agreement – agreed on 6 December – to be suspended to safeguard the future of European Union (EU) farmers, World Grain wrote.
“In the letter, we noted that differences in production standards, as well as environmental and social requirements between the EU and Mercosur countries, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, create an uneven playing field,” Ilia Prodanov, chairman of the management board of the Bulgarian National Grain Producers Association, was quoted as saying.
According to observers, the deal is an economic gamble for the EU as - while access to the Mercosur market could boost the struggling car sector and increase sales of a range of services for European businesses, South American countries would benefit from expanding agricultural exports to Europe.
Under the agreement, the EU will liberalise 82% of agricultural imports, with the remaining imports subject to partial liberalisation commitments, including a tariff-rate quota for more sensitive products, according to the report.
“The grain sector might be impacted indirectly – if livestock production in the EU declines, less grains are needed for feed, so that is negative for the grain business,” Rabobank senior analyst Eva Gocsik said.
However, she noted that this indirect impact would be limited to the beef and poultry sectors and was not projected to be huge.
The risks related to allowing more grains and oilseeds into the EU was also debatable as soyabeans were already imported in large volumes due to limited domestic production, Gocsik added.
