SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian soy traders CJ Selecta, Caramuru and Imcopa have pledged zero deforestation in their supply chains, pressuring larger traders to accelerate environmental commitments.
Their pledge includes a ban on trade in soybeans grown on deforested land after August 2020 in all of Brazil, going beyond previous agreements among traders which only applied to the Amazon rainforest.
Patricia Sugui, CJ Selecta ‘s sustainability manager, said the trio are part of an organization that promotes soy sustainability, contributing to the move to eliminate afforestation from supply chains immediately “in response to calls for civil society. “The three companies typically supply the Norwegian salmon industry.
Their commitment is the first of its kind for Brazilian soy suppliers, highlighting larger players such as Cargill and Bunge, which produced 5.6 million tonnes of soymeal last year, representing 23% of the show complete shipping data.
“We commend this initiative by Caramuru, CJ Selecta and Imcopa to protect Brazilian environment and wildlife outside the salmon value chain,” Cargill told Reuters.
Bunge said in a statement that it has pledged to eliminate legal afforestation from its supply chains by 2025, “the earliest date in the industry.”
In December, a group of Brazilian oilseed crushers Abiove, which also represents Cargill and Bunge, said it was “impossible” to set 2020 as an expiration date to prevent new deforestation and conversion land for soybean areas in Cerrado savanna, where most of Brazil’s soy is grown.
Abiove did not respond to a request for comment.
Caramuru, which produced 817,000 tonnes of soymeal in 2020, said it will use satellite and government data to deliver on the promise.
The move means the entire European salmon region will receive soy from Brazilian suppliers that have 100% soybean value chains without deforestation, the Norwegian Rainforest Foundation said Thursday.
Sugui said that Norway, a major market for CJ Selecta, was the first country in which the campaign was launched.
Reciting with Ana Mano; Edited by Marguerita Choy and Sonya Hepinstall