Cocoa-producing countries have asked the European Union for at least two more years to comply with EU regulation intended to ensure that beans imported to Europe do not come from deforested plots. But despite the mounting pressure, the Commission says it remains focused on implementing the regulation.
In a joint declaration signed last week at the headquarters of the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) in Côte d'Ivoire, cocoa-producing countries said that implementation deadlines set by the EU were "unrealistic in view of the requirements of the regulation, which range from the geolocation of plots to the establishment of an exhaustive traceability system".
The EU's Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is due to come into force from 30 December 2024, and requires companies seeking to sell designated products to prove they have not been sourced from land deforested or degraded since 2021.
With less than three months to go, the ICCO said a traceability system wasn't yet operational, while the European Commission still had not shared all the necessary documents or activated a data-processing platform involved in implementing the rules.
Protection for small producers
Cocoa producers warn that hasty implementation of the deforestation regulation could prove detrimental, particularly for small producers who risk finding themselves barred from the European market.
So as not to "add uncertainty in an already highly disrupted market", they are asking Brussels for a delay – something it has already granted to downstream players responsible for bringing finished chocolate products to market.
The ICCO is also calling for technical and financial support from the EU and industry to help implement the regulation without cutting into growers' incomes.
European opposition
As well as cocoa, the new rules also apply to palm oil, cattle, soy, coffee, timber and rubber – and any products derived from them.
They have also faced resistance from within the EU, with some member states also calling for implementation to be postponed.
Earlier this month, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he would push for a delay until concerns raised by Germany's newspaper publishing industry had been addressed.
Publishers – who are affected as consumers of paper, derived from wood – claim the regulation would create unmanageable bureaucratic burdens.
Meanwhile Brazil, a major supplier to the EU of several of the commodities affected, wrote to the European Commission this month calling for the regulation to be suspended and for the EU to reconsider altogether its approach to combatting deforestation.
Despite the mounting opposition, the Commission said earlier this week that the goal of implementing the EUDR as early as 30 December 2024 is still in place.
“The Commission is still working very hard on preparing the ground for the implementation of this regulation,” spokesperson Adalbert Jahnz told reporters in Brussels.
