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According to Friends of the Earth-Brazilian Amazonia, Internal sources at IFC  in Washington confirmed that the Bank decided to cancel its contract  with Bertin - largest beef exporter from Brazil and second largest  in the world. IFC has further requested immediate payment of the loan balance,  equivalent to US$ 30 million.  The Bank will convene an internal  meeting at the end of the month to evaluate other possible actions.

 

Since 2006, Friends of the Earth-Brazilian Amazonia has maintained  the IFC's Board of Directors informed about serious violations of  its environmental and social policies represented by a US$ 90 million loan to Bertin.  Together with other members of the Forest  Working Group of the Brazilian Forum of NGOs and Social Movements,  the organization initially alerted the IFC's board about a lack of  impact studies and implications of a massive increase of Bertin's  industrial capacity in three states of the Brazilian Amazon. The  board was subsequently informed that related documents submitted for internal review at IFC were in fact misleading.  Nonetheless, the loan was approved.

 

Many of the problems originally anticipated by Friends of the  Earth were successively confirmed. Bertin not only continued  purchases of beef from illegal producers, but also expanded its  acquisitions in the Amazon region, including beef produced by  ranchers that invaded and deforested indigenous lands and other  legally-protected forests. Recently, Bertin resisted payment of  three fines equivalent to US$ 1.7 million, issued by the federal  environmental agency IBAMA, until they were publicly disclosed.

Last April, a report issued by Friends of the Earth - Brazilian  Amazonia, entitled A Hora da Conta ("Time to Pay the Bill")  announced that Bertin, through its beef-processing facility in  Tucumá, located in the eastern Amazonian state of Pará, was  purchasing cattle from the nearby municipality of São Félix do  Xingu, notorious as a focus of illegal ranching, in direct violation  of commitments to IFC previously established in January 2008. The  Federal Prosecutor's Office (Ministério Público Federal) made extensive use of the Friends of the Earth report to file a legal  action last week against the company, including a demand for major  indemnification for environmental damage. Also last week,  Greenpeace issued a publication with georeferenced maps of several  ranchers in the region that are suppliers to Bertin, all in  situations of illegality. On Wednesday, major supermarket chains in  Brazil announced they were suspending purchases of beef products supplied by Bertin and other meat-processors in the Amazon region, in accordance with a notification received from the Federal  Prosecutor's Office.

The director of Friends of the Earth - Brazilian Amazonia, Roberto  Smeraldi, commemorated the decision. "We congratulate IFC for its  decision and we hope that this serves as a lesson in the future.  Now, it is important for the National Bank for Social and Economic  Development (BNDES) to follow this example," he stated. "How can a public bank  continue as a partner of a company so involved in illegal activities? On Monday, we will request the inclusion of BNDES and other banks in actions against illegal ranching within the federal  courts," stated Smeraldi. 

 

Last year, BNDES approved a loan of over R$ 2.5 billion (approximately US$ 1.25 billion) to Bertin and acquired significant financial participation in the enterprise.