Carrefour SA Chief Executive Officer Alexandre Bompard plans to issue a public apology to the Brazilian government to settle a controversy over its commitment against selling South American meat in France,

Brazil's agriculture minister on Monday threw his support behind national meat suppliers that have halted deliveries to Carrefour supermarkets in a growing row related to Mercosur trade negotiations.Brazilian media are calling the disrupted meat deliveries to Carrefour supermarkets a "boycott" and many Brazilians online have applauded it.

It should be stressed that so far, it is only Carrefour France that plans to refuse to stock meat from Mercosur and farmers are opposed because the two largest producers in South America, Argentina and Brazil may have free access to EU Market.

Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bompard said the chain would not sell meat from Mercosur countries in France, as French farmers protested against a trade deal with the South American bloc.

The Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, reacted with indignation to Carrefour’s decision in France to halt purchases of Brazilian meat. He stated that, in addition to Brazilian producers ceasing sales of beef to the French group’s national network, chicken producers are also following the same path.

Brazil's government has blasted French retailer Carrefour after its CEO vowed to keep South American meat off its shelves in France in solidarity with farmers, calling the comments part of a wider push to undermine a pending trade deal.