A delegation of MEPs from the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development will visit Brazil next week (October 27-30) to meet with local authorities and farmers.

Brazil is the largest economy of the four Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay).

However, the EU Commission has said that "so far, Brazil’s potential as major destination for EU agri-food exports remains largely untapped".

Meat processing in Brazil

During the visit, the group of MEPs will meet with the Minister for Family Agriculture and Agrarian Development of Brazil, Paulo Teixeira and other representatives of the federal and state governments.

MEPs will learn about Brazilian research and technological innovation for plant and animal production systems while visiting a research centre dedicated to sustainable development.

During a visit of the largest animal protein company in the world, they will hear how local meat processing industry operates.

MEPs will speak with Brazilian soy, corn, cattle and poultry farmers, visit organic farms, and debate with representatives of the agricultural sector in the Confederation of Agriculture of Brazil.

Mercosur agreement

Ahead of the mission, Veronika Vrecionová, chair of the European Parliament AGRI Committee, said the trip to Brazil "comes at the right moment, just before the signing of a trade agreement with the Mercosur countries".

"The agreement is arousing great passion, especially among the agricultural community," she said.

"I believe that this trip will give us a better insight into the reality of agriculture in Brazil, trade, food processing, but also into issues relating to compliance with EU standards in the areas of nature protection, animal welfare, and food safety.”

EU agri-food mission

This comes as 70 delegates from the European food and drinks industry participated in a week-long event in Brazil being led by Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen this week.

Ornua was among those delegates.

A spokesperson for Ornua told Agriland: "As Ireland’s largest exporter of dairy products, the opportunity to visit Brazil, South America’s largest economy, adds to our ongoing scoping activity to explore new opportunities for Irish dairy.

"While Brazil, to date, has not been a strategic priority market for Ornua, we are always focused on diversifying our market presence to expand and grow the Irish dairy story and maximise value for the sector."

According to the European Commission, the purpose of the visit has been to facilitate European agricultural food and beverage exports to Brazil and expand their presence on this market.