European Cocoa Association calls for EUDR deforestation law delay
Deforestation has increased through a number of sectors including with palm oil and cocoa. Pic: Shutterstock
The European Cocoa Association (ECA) has joined a growing chorus of calls for the EUDR regulations surrounding deforestation within supply chains to be pushed back in its implementation, reports Neill Barston.
In an open letter to the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, the organisation asserted that the region could ‘not afford to fall behind and lose its competitive edge’ in its work on climate neutrality, with considerable concerns remaining over the legislation’s detailed delivery.
It follow a similar call to the EU Commission leader from the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who called on her to agree a delay to the scheme’s implementation that is planned for the end of December.
Furthermore, a number of countries including Malaysia, Indonesia and Brazil, as well as cocoa trade associations in Ivory Coast, have all made similar pleas over fears that that the new regulations – which place mandatory controls on companies proving that they are ‘deforestation free’ as well as delivering human rights protections for workers in commodities covered by the laws, including cocoa and palm oil, would potentially prove a barrier to trade.
Market observers have expressed concerns that the regulations will in effect create a ‘two tier’ cocoa trading system, with supplies that are considered compliant and those which are not – further creating divides within the industry.
However, as previously reported, there has been broad backing for the overall concept of the legislation, with the mandatory aspect of the laws seen as crucial in creating greater transparency in operating.
For its part, the ECA’s letter read: “To ensure the sustainable prosperity and competitiveness of the European cocoa industry, the ECA respectfully requests that a proposal to delay the date of application of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) be put forward, in order to provide the additional time that is essential to make this Regulation a success.
“The ECA has steadfastly supported key parts of the European Green Deal, including the EUDR. We fully recognise the need to protect the world’s forests, as well as the cocoa sector’s role in conservation efforts. For this reason, we have actively contributed to the preparations for implementation over the past 16 months, by participating in the Multi-Stakeholder Platform on Protecting and Restoring the World’s Forests, writing letters and emails requesting meetings to seek clarification and propose technical solutions, and by creating a specific protocol on EUDR due diligence for the cocoa sector.”
It added that it would continue to be a trusted partner to the European Commission in the implementation of this important piece of legislation and that it hoped it could count on the European Commission’s willingness to engage on the issue in the ” challenging months ahead”,
Notably, the ECA added that the absence of clarity on key elements due to the repeatedly delayed publication of FAQs and guidance makes preparing for the Regulation highly uncertain from a legal perspective.
It also expressed ‘extreme concern’ over the monitoring information system linked to the EUDR programme, with the organisation citing fears over its design, implementations and capabilities to process the millions of farm data adequately. In addition, it also said that a perceived lack of clarity over how the legislation will be interpreted also created further complexities that warranted a delay to the scheme.
Finally, it added that the country benchmarking system was also ‘an unknown quantity,’ with a further factor that not all EU states had met obligations to designate a competent authority to monitor the scheme- with some of them in its view, either being unable or unprepared to meet with stakeholders in the overall process.
