EU rule on deforestation-free products could hurt small farmers

The European Union, from the end of 2024, It will only allow agricultural products with no deforestation certification to enter its territory, as part of its policies to achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. However, the measure could be detrimental to the small agricultural producers and would benefit large agro-exporters, according to Pamela Coke-Hamilton, executive director of International Trade Center (ITC) for its acronym in English).

According to the official’s statements, EU rules to curb deforestation could have a “catastrophic” impact on world trade if the bloc does not help small producers and developing nations adapt.

Coke-Hamilton points out that the A ban on deforestation-related products entering the EU favored large companies that can trace where their products were grown, thus risking “cutting off” smaller suppliers.

What the larger growers can do is, not being able to trace these small farmers, just cut them down,” he told the Financial Times.

Thus, countries such as Brazil or Honduras, among the bloc’s main coffee suppliers, or Indonesia and Malaysia, key exporters of palm oil and rubber, are among the most affected by the regulation.

The ITC representative warned that exporters from those countries could try to circumvent the regulation by shipping products to countries with less stringent import rules, which would disrupt trade flows.

Depending on how well the EU addresses its outreach to developing countries, the impact of the law on world trade could be “catastrophic or it could be fine”, he added.

This legislation, which will take effect at the end of next year, is the first in the world to ban imports of products linked to deforestation, including cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soybeans, timber and rubber.

With information from the Financial Times.