LONDON ¨C Most global coffee firms will not be ready to comply with the European Union¡¯s new law preventing imports of commodities linked to deforestation, and small farmers may suffer as a consequence, a major coffee sector report has found.
The EU¡¯s landmark law, which comes into effect at the end of 2024, requires importers of commodities like coffee, cocoa, beef, soy, rubber and palm oil to produce a due diligence statement proving their goods are not contributing to the destruction of forests ¡ª a major source of climate change ¡ª or risk hefty fines.
According to the biennial Coffee Barometer, prepared by a group of NGOs, coffee firms¡¯ lack of preparedness for the law might prompt them to shift sourcing to more developed regions like Brazil that have better traceability, leaving millions of mostly small-scale, poverty-stricken farmers in the lurch.
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