Brazilian organic honey has fivefold value in the US, importers say

Abemel (Brazilian Association of Honey Exporters) defended, during a public hearing held by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), that Brazilian organic honey be removed from the list of products that may be subject to a surcharge from July 15th.

According to the entity's representative, João Marcello, Brazil occupies a strategic position in supplying the American market and has characteristics that make it difficult to be replaced by other suppliers.

The highlight of the audience was the participation of two of the largest importers of organic honey in the United States and the main bottler of the product in the country. According to João Marcello, the companies focused their arguments on the economic impacts that a possible tariff could have on the American economy.

According to participants, each dollar spent on importing organic honey generates approximately US$5.50 in economic activity in the United States, in addition to supplying industries that use the ingredient in the manufacture of products such as cereal bars, granolas and yogurts.

For Abemel, the joint participation of Brazilian exporters and American companies strengthened the sector's defense before the committee responsible for investigating Section 301, which analyzes the tariff proposal.

The entity stated that it complied with all the steps foreseen in the process, presented technical data and had public demonstrations from United States companies in favor of maintaining imports.

According to Abemel, the United States market consumes around 90 million pounds (approximately 40 thousand tons) of organic honey per year, with Brazil accounting for around 75% of this volume.

For the entity, this protagonism arises from natural and productive conditions that make the country one of the few capable of meeting the requirements of organic certification on a large scale.

João Marcello stated that one of the main differences is the use of the Africanized bee, the result of crossing between European and African species. According to him, this type of bee is highly resistant to disease and, contrary to what occurs in several countries, does not require the use of antibiotics during management.

The characteristic is considered essential for organic production, as certification prohibits the use of these medicines due to the risk of residues in the honey.

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Another argument presented to the USTR was the availability of preserved areas in Brazilian biomes, such as the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado and Caatinga. According to Abemel, these environments allow apiaries to comply with international criteria for organic production, which require a minimum distance of 3.5 kilometers from potential sources of contamination, such as urban areas, landfills, gas stations and conventional crops.

According to the entity's representative, these factors make Brazil a difficult supplier to replace, especially considering the volume demanded by the American market. "Brazil is unique in these points and this is not easily found anywhere else in the world", he stated.

Despite the positive assessment of the audience, João Marcello avoided predicting the result. According to him, the sector considers that it presented solid arguments, but the final decision depends on the analysis of the Section 301 committee and the other departments involved in the process.

The USTR is expected to announce on July 15 which products will remain subject to the surcharge and which may be excluded from the measure.

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Source: CNN