The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has “warmly welcomed” the EU Parliament’s decision to ban the importation of products linked to deforestation.
The legislation, which must be approved by the EU Council, means that companies will only be allowed to sell products in the EU if the supplier provides a “due diligence” statement confirming that the product does not come from deforested land or has led to forest degradation after December 31, 2020.
The products covered by the new legislation are: Cattle; cocoa; coffee; palm oil; soya; and wood.
The law also includes products that contain, have been fed with or have been made using these commodities such as leather; chocolate; furniture; rubber; charcoal; and printed paper products.
ICMSA
ICMSA president Pat McCormack said the law was “absolutely required” when the EU was “effectively forcing” its farmers to plant and reinstate forestry.
He said the “landmark law” should now signal a commitment by the EU to ensure that any foodstuffs imported into the bloc are produced and processed to environmental regulations at least equal to that demanded of domestic food producers and processors.
McCormack said it is “arrant nonsense” that the EU is demanding nature restoration plans from member states while negotiating trade deals with countries that are cutting down sections of forest equal to the size of Irish provinces on a weekly basis.
“The efficacy of this law – so badly needed and a long overdue rebalancing – rests completely on stringent and proactive monitoring of the verification and due diligence that will doubtless be provided by these gigantic consortiums that have been producing beef from cleared forest.
“We don’t think that their simple assurances can just be accepted like that.
“Perhaps the EU might look at assurances or inspections from reputable environmental agencies and groups in these producer countries as well as having their own officials on the ground to verify the requirements of this law?” the ICMSA president said.
McCormack noted the objections of Brazilian agribusiness group ABAG to the EU Parliament decision.
“If they were abiding by their own codes and regulations that we are told are being observed, then there’d be no need for them to be alarmed at all by yesterday’s developments.
“This attitude is exactly why any origin documentation produced by these corporations will need to be looked at minutely and verified independently,” he said.