EU to ban commodities farmed under deforested conditions

Commodities, including cocoa, oil palm, coffee, oil palm, rubber, and wood, farmed (by clearing forest) under a deforested condition will be banned in the European Union (EU) Markets.

The world’s largest importer of cocoa, much of it from Ghana and Ivory Coast, says its main reason for the deforestation-free products regulation known as EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is to protect forests and their resources in third countries.

Mr Valdis Dombrovskis, the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for an Economy that Works for People and Commissioner for Trade, speaking at a two-day seminar in Brussels, clarified that products from farms put under cultivation before the year 2020 were exempt.

Organised by the EU, the seminar titled Sustainability Policies and International Trade, sought to provide education on deforestation-products to 20 journalists selected from countries the EU trades with.

The regulation was first outlined in the 2019 Commission Communication on Stepping up EU Action to Protect and Restore the World’s Forests.

The commitment was later confirmed by the European Green Deal, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030and theFarm to Fork Strategy.