On the evening of May 31, in Hanoi, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan chaired a meeting with industry associations on the EU’s new regulations on prevention and control of deforestation and forest degradation.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Nguyen Nam Hai, Chairman of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association said: Coffee is an export commodity to the EU in large and stable quantities, currently accounting for about 42% of coffee output. exports of Vietnam every year. Therefore, in order to stabilize and not fluctuate the market share of coffee exports to the EU, Vietnam’s coffee industry needs to comply with the anti-deforestation and forest degradation regulations that have been approved by the European Council and come into force. from May 16, 2023.
Thereby, the new regulation will introduce new mandatory requirements in 2024. The official time for the implementation of the bill banning the import of items related to deforestation of European countries is not much, due to Vietnam must promote the dissemination and enforcement of the above regulation.
Specifically, the EU will ban the import of agricultural products including: coffee, palm oil, soybeans, timber, cattle, cocoa, rubber and some derivative products produced on land derived from deforestation and forest degradation since December 31, 2020 from countries entering the EU. Currently consuming and buying Vietnamese coffee for export are mostly large corporations: Nestle, JDE, Newman, Louis Dreyfus…
Meanwhile, Vietnam currently has about 1.3 million coffee farmers, most of which are only 0.5 hectares or less in 11 coffee growing provinces. This number of areas is actually legal, not planted on land due to deforestation, forest degradation, but in fact, proving the origin according to regulations is not easy. Ms. Quynh Chi proposed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, specialized agencies and companies provide technical support data to build a database on forest protection monitoring and plantation data.
According to Mr. Vo Hoang An, Vietnam Rubber Association: Rubber trees need to be planted for 7 years to harvest latex. Therefore, the entire rubber area that has been harvested and is currently being harvested is planted before the date of the EU’s regulation on anti-deforestation and forest degradation from December 31, 2020. Currently, the total rubber area of the country is 930,000 hectares.
Speaking at the conclusion of the meeting, Minister Le Minh Hoan emphasized: EU’s regulations on anti-deforestation and forest degradation for agricultural production, including coffee, this is an opportunity for us to structure agricultural products, especially coffee, for sustainable development. The requirement for traceability and transparency of the origin of agricultural products is an inevitable requirement from the market, including the EU market.
Minister Le Minh Hoan also requested the Department of International Cooperation soon submit to the Minister an action framework to implement this EU regulation. Minister Le Minh Hoan suggested that the Ministry’s advisory agencies adjust the action framework and consult with associations and industries to soon have an implementation program in line with new European regulations. In the Action Framework, it is necessary to emphasize the promotion of communication so that the authorities and farmers understand the EU’s regulations on anti-deforestation and forest degradation when producing agricultural products, including coffee. In particular, the Action Framework must clearly define the responsibilities of MARD, authorities at all levels and people to implement EU regulations. “We have to change ourselves to build brands and quality agricultural products, including coffee products in particular,” Minister Le Minh Hoan said.
Products produced on cleared land will not be allowed to enter the European market. Photo: UNDP
It can be said that the EU will ban the import of agricultural products including: Coffee, palm oil, soybeans, timber, cattle, cocoa, rubber and a number of derivative products produced on sourced land. from deforestation and forest degradation since December 31, 2020, demonstrates the EU’s responsibility for global environmental issues.
However, associations and businesses believe that this new regulation will create certain challenges but also opportunities for Vietnam to increase market share.
Trinh Duc Minh, Chairman of Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association, said that the European Union (EU) introduced the Bill on non-deforestation products to show responsibility for the common environmental protection of Vietnam. around the world, they want to use products responsibly, not destroying the environment. It can be said that this is a common responsibility of the world, but it should not be thought of as a technical barrier that causes difficulties for the Vietnamese coffee industry. Dak Lak is not concerned about the story that coffee causes deforestation, but we must prove that Dak Lak’s coffee products are not from deforestation by text and pictures.
In order for Vietnam – Dak Lak to be proactive in meeting the new EU regulations, the agricultural sector and authorities in the raw material areas (district level) must widely and clearly disseminate these regulations, not only for the coffee plant to which all the agricultural products are concerned. These regulations will help producers focus on product traceability and sustainable production in association with the ecosystem on the orchard.
Sharing the same opinion with Mr. Minh, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Loi, General Director of An Thai Investment and Development Joint Stock Company added, For other countries, EUDR is a challenge because the coffee areas overlap with forest land. investigation may be risky. In Vietnam in general, and Dak Lak in particular, the areas planned to grow coffee have been stable for a long time, with almost no new area.
This is also an opportunity to develop the coffee industry in a sustainable way, improve quality and increase deeply processed products. Enterprises have calculated, proactively responded quickly, focusing on updating information about export markets effectively. Currently, authorities need to commit and implement solutions to ensure that when there are fluctuations in the coffee market, they do not violate EU regulations. Along with that, communication must be very good in all information channels, especially training activities for export enterprises; At the same time, propaganda to warn people if violations will affect the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee brand.
