Day 241 - 26 Apr 96 - Page 56


     
     1        dynamic sector in Central American trade during the 1960s
     2        and 1970s, with a 400 per cent increase between 1961 and
     3        1974 alone".
     4
     5        If I just refer to the chart below, we have here the total
     6        beef exports from 1973 to 1982 for Costa Rica and Guatemala
     7        and it can be seen that Costa Rica is the largest exporter
     8        and Guatemala is a very substantial exporter.  If we just
     9        note for Mexico, as it has come up in the case, underneath
    10        the chart there are two dots, two stars next to Mexico.  It
    11        says, "Excluding live feeder calves of which 468,000 were
    12        exported in 1982."
    13
    14        If I carry on reading under "The Hamburger Society" in the
    15        centre of the page:
    16
    17        "Overall, the beef that the United States purchases from
    18        Central America represents only 13.5 per cent of the amount
    19        that the US companies import from throughout the world and
    20        less than 2 per cent of the nation's total beef
    21        consumption.  Despite slight declines in recent years,
    22        annual per capita beef consumption in the United States
    23        still surpasses 1051bs and an American house cat eats more
    24        beef in a year than the average Central American.
    25
    26        It is important to point out that the majority of US beef
    27        imports have always originated in Australia and New
    28        Zealand, with lesser amounts from Brazil, Argentina,
    29        Ireland, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.  Beef exports
    30        from Central America began in earnest in the 1960s when the
    31        emphasis placed by US cattlemen on higher profit, grain fed
    32        beef and the rise of the fast-food industry combined to
    33        create a shortage of the cheap cuts used in hamburgers and
    34        processed beef products."
    35
    36        Then at the bottom of the page, the last paragraph starting
    37        "Central America":  "Central American beef exports enter
    38        the United States in 60lb boxes of frozen deboned cuts
    39        packed in USDA inspected abattoirs".
    40
    41   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Where was that?
    42
    43   MR. MORRIS:  Sorry, it is on page 17 with the words "Central
    44        America", the last paragraph.  It is an incomplete
    45        paragraph.  Shall I start again now?
    46
    47   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, that is all right.
    48
    49   MR. MORRIS:  ".... packed in USDA inspected abattoirs in the
    50        Central American countries, transported by refrigerated 
    51        container ships to port cities in Florida and California. 
    52        The meat is purchased by custom house brokers and meat 
    53        packers, then sold to fast-food chains and convenience food
    54        processors throughout the country."
    55
    56        Then I will continue reading over the page, the first full
    57        paragraph, starting with the word "identifying":
    58
    59        "Identifying the specific products that contain imported
    60        Central American beef is difficult, if not impossible.

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