Lithuania should not accept the free trade agreement signed by the European Union (EU) and the South American Common Market (CMU) bloc "Mercosur", says Minister of Agriculture Ignas Hofmanas.

„The Parliament's Committee on Rural Affairs has taken this decision, and the Ministry also supports it. But the European Commission has promised a detailed explanation of this agreement, and we would like to wait for it, but for now the position is as follows," Hofmanas said on LRT TV's "Dienas tema" programme on Monday.

In mid-December, a parliamentary committee decided to propose that the government reject the agreement when it is debated in the Council of the EU, and join the member states that are blocking it in view of Lithuanian farmers' concerns about unfair competition.

„Our agricultural sector is most affected by meat – poultry and beef. Since we grow most of our agricultural produce and export a large part of it, I do not think that this agreement would offer any opportunities. Maybe for some EU countries it would be an opportunity, but for us I would see more threats," said Mr Hofman.

Vitenis Tomkus, the last Deputy Minister of Agriculture, has said that the agreement would be economically beneficial for Lithuania, as it could increase the country's exports of agricultural and food products.

The country's farmers' organisations see a number of risks from the entry of products from the Mercosur bloc into the EU market, as well as the negative impact on Lithuania's agricultural sector, environmental objectives and food safety standards. 

The EU-Mercosur agreement aims to reduce tariffs and boost trade, creating one of the world's largest free trade areas with more than 700 million people. In South America, it would include Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The EU has been negotiating a free trade agreement with Latin American countries for more than 20 years.