Brussels, 02/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Committee of Agricultural Organisations in the European Union (COPA) and the General Committee for Agricultural Cooperation in the European Union (COGECA) call on the European Commission to put a halt to imports of poultry meat from Brazil and Thailand. These agricultural organisations express great concern about the sharp rise in imports of salted/deepfrozen chicken fillets from these countries.
Imports from these two countries went from 3,000 tonnes in 1996 to nearly 400,000 tonnes today, say COPA and COGECA, which also state that, in three years, Brazilian exports alone for such products have increased twenty-fold. These organisations are highly displeased by the fact that, by adding a little salt, the product imported into the Community falls into a different customs category to benefit from a more advantageous customs duty.
COPA and COGECA also hope to strengthen health controls on imports of poultry meat and eggs from these third countries, after the fashion of measures taken in January by the Commission concerning imports from China.