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
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
