Coffee Growers Seek to Delay EU Deforestation Requirement, Reports Reuters

By Gustavo Palencia

TEGUCIGALPA – The head of the world’s leading coffee organization announced on Wednesday that they will request the European Union to delay a new requirement mandating that imported beans originate from regions not associated with deforestation.

This regulation, which is scheduled to take effect at the end of the year, would prohibit the sale of coffee, cocoa, soy, palm oil, wood, rubber, and cattle unless companies can demonstrate that these products are sourced from areas where deforestation has not occurred in recent years.

"We can’t meet that date; it is not feasible," stated Vanusia Nogueira, director of the International Coffee Organization (ICO), during an interview.

The ICO, which is affiliated with the United Nations, represents over 90% of global coffee production and more than 60% of coffee consumption. Major coffee-producing countries, including Brazil, Vietnam, and Colombia, are members of this organization.

"This is a very ambitious deadline," Nogueira said. "We believe that by engaging with EU leaders, there may be a willingness to reconsider the timeline."

She did not specify how long the ICO would seek to extend the deadline.

When asked about the potential consequences for coffee producers who fail to meet the deadline, Nogueira suggested that the EU "will find some solution." She also noted, "European consumers enjoy coffee greatly… they will not be left without it."

Nogueira made these comments during a coffee summit hosted by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Tegucigalpa.

According to Honduran Deputy Minister of Coffee Growing Carlos Murillo, the nearly three-dozen member nations of CELAC are expected to conclude the summit with a declaration urging the EU to postpone the deforestation compliance deadline.