The government of Brazil has issued a statement in which it says it “repudiates on the strongest terms” opposition to the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement expressed in France.

The statement, released by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock on behalf of its government, criticised what it called the “recent attacks by French politicians and representatives of retail chains in France on the quality of Brazilian meat”.

The statement comes after the French retail giant Carrefour backtracked on a previous statement that it would not sell Brazilian beef.

The CEO of the French retail business, Alexandre Bompard, last week announced that the company was going to commit to not sell any meat from Mercosur countries.

This led to a strong backlash from Brazil, with Carrefour later saying: “We regret that our communication has been perceived as a questioning of our partnership with Brazilian agriculture or as criticism of it”.

Carrefour Group said that it sources the vast majority of its Brazilian meat in Brazil and will continue to do so, adding that it “appreciates” the “professionalism and commitment to the land and livestock” in the Brazilian agri-sector.

In its most recent statement, the Brazilian government said it will “react firmly against any new campaign that targets the image of Brazilian products, especially those of plant and animal origin”.

“The excellence of the Brazilian agri-business sector throughout the entire production chain is deservedly recognised on global scale,” the statement claimed.

“Brazil’s protagonism in the world food market, achieved with competitive products, sustainable practices, and, above all, with high quality and rigorous sanitary standards, is the result of the work of generations of Brazilians farmers and entrepreneurs.”

The statement went on to claim that Brazilian production is “frequently subject to protectionist attacks through widespread campaigns that falsely attach meat production in Brazil to deforestation and low sanitary practices”.

“The Brazilian government expects that companies that announced boycotts against Brazilian products will reconsider these unfounded decisions,” it added.

In the strongly-worded statement, the Brazilian government said that is expects that “all the relevant stakeholders who have contributed with this disinformation campaign realise the negative consequences of their actions, above all their serious impact on the relations between Europe and Brazil”.