Day 067 - 15 Dec 94 - Page 55
1 basically zero, for at least five years.
2
3 Q. So it has gone from zero to 80 per cent in five years?
4
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: He did not actually say that. You may be
6 right, but that is not what he said.
7 A. I do not know when it started for sure. If need be
8 I can ask some questions and provide an answer either
9 tomorrow, if I am able to contact the right persons, or
10 later on in the trial through our -----
11
12 MR. JUSTICE BELL: In fact, I am not sure I heard what has come
13 up on the screen. Was it your understanding that what has
14 happened in Germany has developed from nothing or next to
15 nothing over the last five years?
16 A. Yes, roughly, that is correct.
17
18 MR. MORRIS: Is that sort of pattern the same in the other
19 countries? You mentioned Argentina, Costa Rica?
20 A. I am sorry?
21
22 Q. Has that kind of pattern been the same in those other
23 countries that you mentioned?
24 A. The reasons for which they were created are different
25 in the different countries. In Germany it was driven by
26 our desire to have control of the supply chain. It was
27 also driven by the customer who wanted to know where the
28 meat was coming from, whether it was Germany or some of the
29 other countries. In Argentina, who is a world player in
30 beef and who exports beef to Europe and who have the
31 capability of that particular supplier that works, that is
32 a slaughterhouse as well as a meat processing manufacturing
33 facility for us, has the advantage that he owns some of the
34 cattle, most of the cattle, so that cattle they own we know
35 where it is coming from. It is processed in the same
36 facility and it is processed into patties in the same
37 facilities, and it is then transported to our restaurants.
38 It is for that reason that we can control and know where
39 the meat came from.
40
41 MR. MORRIS: Sorry, is Argentina on this list?
42
43 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
44
45 MR. RAMPTON: It is J.
46
47 MR. MORRIS: Yes, Argentina. Just while we are on J, it does
48 not say it is exported to Europe there. It does say
49 chicken is exported to -- I cannot read the first one --
50 somewhere, Holland and Hong Kong, Germany Holland and Hong
51 Kong?
52 A. That is correct. What they do not export are
53 McDonald's products. It is the supplier that manufactures
54 our beef. They do export to Europe and some other
55 countries. It is an EC approved facility, but we do not
56 export any of our beef patties to any country outside of
57 Argentina, that are coming from Argentina.
58
59 Q. Or meat, pre-patty meat?
60 A. That is correct.
