PRESS RELEASE: Partnership and incentives key to the sustainable transformation of our supply chains

COCERAL, FEDIOL and FEFAC, joining efforts as the EU grain chain, have released today their views on how to accelerate action against deforestation.

The paper comes at a crucial moment in the EU debate, shortly after the release of the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies by the European Commission, which set the ambition of the European Union in supporting a global transition towards sustainable agrifood systems. Within this context, the fight against global deforestation and the reduction of the EU’s contribution to it, are fundamental challenges which the EU grain and oilseed trade, crushing and feed industry fully share.

In their joint document, the three associations describe what an EU regulatory framework should foresee in order to be conducive to actual change on the ground. This starts with the recognition of the positive transformation brought by voluntary activities over the last decade and with the need to ensure coordinated engagement of the EU and Member States with countries where deforestation risks arise. The establishment of an EU regulatory framework on top of that should be conducive to mainstream sustainable transformation.

“The path towards no-deforestation supply chains along ambitious EU objectives, entails a careful balancing of EU actions and measures undertaken in partnership with producer countries to be effective at origin” – declares John Grossmann, President of FEDIOL. “As such, operators should be provided with a smart toolbox defining clear objectives in a step-wise approach and acknowledging existing disparities among different supply chains”.

FEFAC President Nick Major states: “The EU feed industry has been proactive in promoting the mainstream market transformation for responsible soy sourcing based on its guidelines first issued in 2015. According to our risk assessment, approximately 80% of soy used by the feed industry originates from low-deforestation risk areas. In 2019, more than 10 million tons of soy (i.e. almost 50%) in meal equivalent used by the EU feed industry have been produced according to responsible soy schemes benchmarked by ITC against the FEFAC guidelines. FEFAC is planning to adopt a new deforestation-free criterion in the second version of our guidelines which we will launch before the end of 2020. This means the EU feed industry is on the right track to meet market and societal demands on responsible and deforestation-free supply chains”.

For Philippe Mitko, President of COCERAL: “Stopping deforestation is a complex challenge. Because the protection of the world’s ecosystems is vital, measures intended to increase no-deforestation supply chains must be tenable in the longer term. We must therefore take the time to find well-balanced solutions that protect forests, secure the livelihood of farmers in producing countries and deliver affordable food to consumers”.

The three sectors will continue to share their experience and to be actively engaged with the EU institutions to find effective solutions to the global fight against deforestation.

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COCERAL is the European association of trade in cereals, rice, feedstuffs oilseeds, olive oil, oils and fats and agrosupply. It represents the interest of the European collectors, traders, importers, exporters and port silo storekeepers of the above mentioned agricultural products. For further information, please contact Iliana Axiotiades, Secretary General, secretariat@coceral.com

FEDIOL represents the interests of the European vegetable oil and protein meal industry. With over 180 facilities in Europe, the sector provides over 20.000 direct employments. Our members process approximately 55 million tonnes of basic products a year for the food and non-food markets. Oilseed crushing produces vegetable oils and protein meals as co-products. While vegetable oils are used for food and technical uses (pharmaceuticals, paints, detergents, biodiesel, etc.), protein meals are used to meet the increasing global demand for meat and protein. For further information, please contact Nathalie Lecocq, FEDIOL Director General, fediol@fediol.eu

FEFAC, the European Compound Feed Manufacturers’ Federation, represents 23 national Associations in 23 EU Member States as well as Associations in Switzerland, Turkey, Serbia, Russia and Norway with observer/associate member status. The European compound feed industry employs over 100,000 persons on app. 3,500 production sites often in rural areas, which offer few employment opportunities. For more information see our web site (www.fefac.eu) or please contact Alexander Döring, Secretary General, fefac@fefac.publishingbureau.co.uk