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EU unfaltering as Cocoa sector joins calls for logging law hold-up

The European Commission stayed unfaltering on Thursday in the face of calls, this time from the bloc's cocoa sector, to delay its signature law prohibiting the import of items linked to deforestation, which enters result at the end of the year.

In a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today, the European Cocoa Association (ECA) said carrying out the law end-December might have serious consequences for cocoa supplies, adding its voice to a growing chorus of calls from market and federal governments the world over.

The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) has been hailed as a. landmark in the battle versus environment modification, however critics say it. is protectionist and might wind up omitting millions of bad,. smallholder farmers from the lucrative EU market.

A bulk of EU member states have actually asked Brussels to scale. back the legislation.

Currently, we predict a scenario where substantial volumes. of deforestation-free cocoa (without supporting documentation). will be obstructed. This will have a direct influence on farmers in. producing nations, and create a supply crunch within Europe,. stated the ECA.

It added that its members are still unclear how to comply. with the law.

Brussels has actually up until now withstood duplicated calls to postpone or. downsize the legislation, which it thinks is needed to. end the EU's contribution to logging, the 2nd leading. cause of climate change after the burning of fossil fuels.

A spokesperson for the Commission stated it would reply to the. ECA letter to help them abide by the brand-new law.

As emphasised consistently ... we have actually been continually. working very closely and in full transparency with all. stakeholders to help them in preparing to comply with their. legal responsibilities, the spokesman stated.

The EUDR needs importers of coffee, cocoa, livestock,. timber, soy, palm oil, rubber and a vast variety of associated. products to prove their products weren't grown on land deforested. after 2020.

Among the steps required, importers will have to. digitally map their supply chains down to the plot where their. raw materials were grown, tracing countless small farms in. remote, rural regions.

Critics state geolocation requirements are exceedingly intricate. in supply chains that cover the globe and involve not simply. countless farms but multiple intermediaries whose information is not. quickly proven.

The EU is the world's second biggest factor to. deforestation through its imports, according to WWF information.

(source: Reuters)