EU steadfast as Cocoa sector joins calls for deforestation law delay
By Maytaal Angel
LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) -The European Commission remained steadfast on Thursday in the face of calls, this time from the bloc's cocoa sector, to delay its signature law banning the import of goods linked to deforestation, which comes into effect at the end of the year.
In a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen this week, the European Cocoa Association (ECA) said implementing the law end-December could have serious consequences for cocoa supplies, adding its voice to a growing chorus of calls from industry and governments the world over.
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) has been hailed as a landmark in the fight against climate change, but critics say it is protectionist and could end up excluding millions of poor, smallholder farmers from the lucrative EU market.
A majority of EU member states have asked Brussels to scale back the legislation.
"Currently, we foresee a scenario where significant volumes of deforestation-free cocoa (without supporting documentation) will be blocked. This will have a direct impact on farmers in producing countries, and create a supply crunch within Europe," said the ECA.
It added that its members are still not clear how to comply with the law.
Brussels has so far resisted repeated calls to delay or scale back the legislation, which it believes is necessary to end the EU's contribution to deforestation, the second leading cause of climate change after the burning of fossil fuels.
A spokesman for the Commission said it would reply to the ECA letter to help them comply with the new law.
"As emphasised repeatedly ...we have been continuously working very closely and in full transparency with all stakeholders to assist them in preparing to comply with their legal obligations," the spokesman said.
The EUDR requires importers of coffee, cocoa, cattle, timber, soy, palm oil, rubber and a vast range of related products to prove their goods weren't grown on land deforested after 2020.
Amongst the measures required, importers will have to digitally map their supply chains down to the plot where their raw materials were grown, tracing millions of small farms in remote, rural regions.
Critics say geolocation requirements are exceedingly complex in supply chains that span the globe and involve not just millions of farms but multiple middlemen whose data is not easily verifiable.
The EU is the world's second largest contributor to deforestation through its imports, according to WWF data.
Reporting by Maytaal Angel; Editing by Conor Humphries
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Penafian: Entiti XM Group menyediakan perkhidmatan pelaksanaan sahaja dan akses ke Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian, yang membolehkan sesorang melihat dan/atau menggunakan kandungan yang ada di dalam atau melalui laman web, tidak bertujuan untuk mengubah atau memperluas, juga tidak mengubah atau mengembangkannya. Akses dan penggunaan tersebut tertakluk kepada: (i) Terma dan Syarat; (ii) Amaran Risiko; dan Penafian Penuh. Oleh itu, kandungan sedemikian disediakan tidak lebih dari sekadar maklumat umum. Terutamanya, perlu diketahui bahawa kandungan Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian bukan permintaan, atau tawaran untuk melakukan transaksi dalam pasaran kewangan. Berdagang dalam mana-mana pasaran kewangan melibatkan tahap risiko yang besar terhadap modal anda.
Semua bahan yang diterbitkan di Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian kami bertujuan hanya untuk tujuan pendidikan/maklumat dan tidak mengandungi – dan tidak boleh dianggap mengandungi nasihat kewangan, cukai pelaburan atau dagangan dan cadangan, atau rekod harga dagangan kami, atau tawaran, atau permintaan untuk suatu transaksi dalam sebarang instrumen kewangan atau promosi kewangan yang tidak diminta kepada anda.
Sebarang kandungan pihak ketiga serta kandungan yang disediakan oleh XM, seperti pendapat, berita, penyelidikan, analisis, harga, maklumat lain atau pautan ke laman web pihak ketiga yang terdapat dalam laman web ini disediakan berdasarkan "seadanya" sebagai ulasan pasaran umum dan bukanlah nasihat pelaburan. Sesuai dengan apa-apa kandungan yang ditafsir sebagai penyelidikan pelaburan, anda mestilah ambil perhatian dan menerima bahawa kandungan tersebut tidak bertujuan dan tidak sediakan berdasarkan keperluan undang-undang yang direka untuk mempromosikan penyelidikan pelaburan bebas dan oleh itu, ia dianggap sebagai komunikasi pemasaran di bawah peraturan dan undang-undang yang berkaitan. SIla pastikan bahawa anda telah membaca dan memahami Notifikasi mengenai Penyelidikan Pelaburan Bukan Bebas dan Amaran Risiko mengenai maklumat di atas yang boleh diakses di sini.
