08:25, 31/05/2023
It is expected that in June 6, the EU's regulations on supply chains that do not cause deforestation and forest degradation will come into effect. Accordingly, agricultural products can only be imported into the EU if the whole process does not take place on the forest area that has been cleared since 2023.
Opportunity for transparent production
To address deforestation that has a serious impact on global climate change, the EU has introduced the Non-Deforestation Products (EUDR) Bill, with clear requirements and targets for products related to deforestation. associated with a high risk of deforestation and forest degradation, including coffee. This measure requires importers and their supply chain partners to demonstrate that their products are not involved in deforestation or forest degradation after December 31, 12. Specifically, the EUDR requires 2020% of coffee products entering Europe to have GPS coordinates/polygons of each production garden. Based on monitoring tools, if forest loss/degradation is detected, then the consignment will face recovery, return.
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| Farmers processing coffee. |
Currently, coffee is one of the main export agricultural products of Vietnam, with nearly 1,8 million tons, bringing the value of more than 4 billion USD by 2022. Dak Lak is the coffee capital of Vietnam. with 213.336 hectares, the output is over 526.700 tons/year. Coffee is a key agricultural product in the economic structure of Dak Lak, accounting for a large proportion of the province's total social product and annual export turnover. However, the coffee industry faces many serious challenges from tight market requirements and sustained pressures, especially in terms of deforestation, production emissions as well as sustainable and reasonable income for farmers. coffee farmers.
In order to meet the requirements of the global development trend, since 2002, Dak Lak has implemented certified sustainable coffee production programs (4C, UTZ, RFA, FLO) and recently organic coffee. At the same time, there are 12 units certified to use the geographical indication "Buon Ma Thuot Coffee" for green coffee (total area 20.326 ha, registered output 39.890 tons/year) and 7 units are licensed granted the right to use the geographical indication “Buon Ma Thuot Coffee” for roasted and ground coffee (193 tons of roasted coffee beans, 125 tons of ground coffee, 2.000 tons of pure instant coffee). This is also the first coffee geographical indication protected in Vietnam and internationally in 32 countries and territories. The implementation of programs and projects to develop sustainable coffee has made an important contribution to the formation of a new generation of coffee makers, in line with the global development trend of sustainable production.
Nguyen Hoai Duong, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, assessed that this bill aims to reduce the risk that products in the supply chain related to deforestation/forest degradation are imported into or exported from the EU. Basically, EUDR does not have much impact on coffee of Vietnam - Dak Lak, because the EU takes the timeline from 2020 onwards, while Dak Lak's coffee has grown steadily for decades now. At the same time, the EUDR is also consistent with Vietnam's policies on forest protection and coffee development. The province's view is to stick to the contents of the Bill to consult the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to have a unified policy so that Dak Lak can be prepared for this, because these are issues that may affect affecting the export of agricultural products of Dak Lak to Europe. On this basis, Dak Lak will also review and re-evaluate the entire production status to prepare certifications for eligible regions to meet the new EU requirements, so that when the EUDR takes effect, Dak Lak is legally ready for export products. These are also warnings to prevent deforestation for productive land or land use derived from deforestation.
Proactive solutions
The EUDR is expected to be published in June 6, with a preparation period for stakeholders of 2023 months. To proactively come up with possible solutions to support the coffee industry and key production regions to meet EUDR requirements, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is working with the Vietnam Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) to complete the process. improve the pilot implementation plan in the whole province; supporting businesses and farmers to access information and new EU regulations in order to create a favorable legal corridor for exports to maintain the market and avoid future violations.
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| Harvesting coffee in the city. Buon Ma Thuot. |
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Localities need to actively grasp the requirements of the EUDR, reorganize agricultural production towards modernity, green growth and sustainable development. The agricultural sector will advise the Provincial People's Committee to deploy on the principle of inheritance, easy to do and low cost, to meet the requirements of the EU."
Mr. Nguyen Hoai Duong, Director of Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
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According to Ms. Tran Quynh Chi, Asia Director, Landscape Program (IDH), Dak Lak needs to pay attention to solutions on: Information and data needed for reference maps to monitor production. coffee causes deforestation; GPS/polygon positioning data for all coffee plantations; zoning coffee production areas according to the levels of high - medium - low risk of deforestation; traceability… By now, the EU's remote monitoring tool (by remote sensing images) will detect deforestation cases based on a nationally recognized and shared reference forest map, to identify determine whether the loss/loss of cover at a given GPS/polygon point is within the forestland. Therefore, it is necessary to unify and provide an accurate reference forest map that accurately reflects the reality of forests and forest types in accordance with European regulations and definitions. In addition, the plantation forests for timber, paper, and rubber latex also need to be re-confirmed to avoid the system identifying this as a natural forest. In addition, the EUDR requires full tracking of the origin of coffee products all the way to the farm, so all coffee imported into the EU must have geolocation data (GPS/polygon) on where it was produced. export. Therefore, it is necessary to involve government agencies in sharing existing data, and develop a process to identify and list GPS/polygon data for all coffee plantations. …
Currently, IDH also recommends that stakeholders develop a mechanism to share and respond to information when the European market detects and warns about deforestation at coffee production points to be supplied to this market. At the same time, discuss programs and activities to support farmers in high-risk coffee areas, especially in ensuring livelihoods, raising awareness and encouraging forms of reforestation. protect other forests.
Minh Thuan – Minh Thong
