Cocoa producers seek to delay EU deforestation rules

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, according to an RFI report. 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. 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.

Full RFI report