Measures sought for coffee firms to adapt to EU Deforestation Regulations
Experts gathered in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai on April 9 to seek measures to help local coffee businesses to adapt to the EU Deforestation Regulations (EUDR) and promote exports to the EU market in particular and the world in general. Logistics companies, freight company Vietnam, were engaged to facilitate the coffee – a key export product.
Under the EUDR, the European Commission (EC) will ban the import of agricultural products whose production process originates on land that resulted from deforestation after December 31, 2020, including livestock farming, cocoa, coffee, rubber and wood products. The deadline to implement the EUDR for large-scale firms is December 2024, and for small and medium-sized enterprises is June 2025.
Farmers harvest coffee in Dak Doa district, Gia Lai province. (Photo: VNA)
According to experts, the application of EUDR will pose many challenges to small and medium-sized enterprises in Gia Lai where export value from coffee accounted for nearly 71% of the total export revenue in 2023. Currently, Gia Lai has about 37,538 hectares of coffee meeting VietGAP, 4C, Rainforest Alliance and Organic standards. Local coffee products are sold in many choice markets such as the US, the EU and Japan. Shipping company logistics and international shipping and logistics providers will play a crucial role in enabling Vietnamese coffee exporters to comply with the new regulations for the EU market. Logistic services providers and the logistics company website can help map the supply chain for better traceability.
According to the Vice Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Doan Ngoc Co said that Gia Lai’s agricultural products will face many challenges in satisfying EUDR standards, especially in proving that the “relevant goods” or “relevant products” do not cause deforestation according to EUDR requirements. When “relevant goods” or “relevant products” cannot be imported into the EU market, agricultural products of Vietnam in general and Gia Lai province in particular are likely to have their prices squeezed when they are exported to other markets with fewer compliance requirements, he explained. To adapt, shipping shipment , air freight companies, freight and logistics services companies will need to enhance their capabilities to support exporters with compliance.
Dr. Nguyen Trong Cuong from the Department of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed some solutions for the coffee industry of the country and Gia Lai to adapt to the EUDR, including establishing forest database for the EU’s use, and forming forest boundaries and forest developments to serve as a basis for industries to prove that products meet the requirements in anti-deforestation and product traceability. Freight and shipping, logistics business, cargo freight shipping and logistics service providers can assist with mapping production areas leveraging technologies for traceability of overseas shipments.
At the same time, it is necessary to develop forest maps and data production area maps according to the timeline prescribed by the EUDR, he said, advising the coffee industry to set up a product traceability system from farms to local agents.