Soy vendors to the salmon industry end trade of deforestation linked soy in Brazil

The Brazilian soy suppliers to the salmon industry, CJ Selecta, Caramuru and Imcopa/Cervejaria Petrópolis, will implement a 100 percent deforestation and conversion free soybean value chain with 2020 as their cut-off date. No soy grown on land deforested after this deadline will be traded. This bold and historic move sets a new benchmark for global sustainable supply chains and is in stark contrast to larger Brazilian soy traders, who continue to trade deforestation soy.

As a result of the move, the majority of the global farmed salmon industry, including the entire European salmon sector, will source soy from Brazilian suppliers whose soybean value chains are 100 percent deforestation and conversion free.

Catarina Martins, Chief Technical Officer of Mowi, said: “Together with other members of the ‘Aquaculture Dialogue on Sustainable Soy Sourcing from Brazil’ group, we applaud this bold leadership move from Caramuru, CJ Selecta and Imcopa to protect the Brazilian environment and wildlife outside of the salmon value chain. It is this commitment to our environment that will keep our industry sustainable and I hope other animal protein industries are inspired to do the same.”

This is the very first time Brazilian soy suppliers make such a commitment. The decision is hailed by global environmental organizations, international retailers, salmon farmers, feed companies, salmon processers and investors, who are deeply concerned about the increasing deforestation and conversion rates in Brazil.

Maurício Voivodic, Executive Director of WWF Brazil, said: “We see this voluntary sector-wide commitment as a benchmark to inspire other global animal protein sectors, as well as other markets linked to the soy supply chain. We celebrate together this relevant private sector led process for the protection of the unique Brazilian Cerrado.”

Ida Breckan Claudi, Senior Advisor at the Rainforest Foundation Norway, added: “The Brazilian soy suppliers and the Norwegian salmon industry show true leadership and sets the new bar for sustainable supply chains. This historic commitment by their Brazilian soy suppliers will be a game changer for the sustainability standard for global supply chains. Global pork, poultry and beef producers are lagging behind, by still allowing deforestation in their supply chain. To stop being complicit in deforestation, the meat industry must follow suit and require their suppliers to become fully deforestation-free.”

This marks the first time an animal protein industry has set such a voluntary and sector wide benchmark. The participants and stakeholders involved in this initiative hope to inspire other global animal protein industries, such as beef, pork and poultry to follow suit.

CJ Selecta, Caramuru and Imcopa/Cervejaria Petrópolis have set August 2020 as the cut-off-date for their deforestation and conversion free soybean supply chain. Together with the sustainability standard owner ProTerra and WWF Brazil, the soy suppliers have agreed on a robust monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) system to implement and enforce their commitment to zero deforestation.

The Brazilian suppliers have delivered certified and deforestation free soy to the European aquaculture industry for a number of years, while delivering non-guaranteed products to other markets. This new commitment extends their deforestation-free commitment to their entire soybean business, also outside the salmon value chain. This means that soy beans produced on land converted after August 2020 cannot enter the supply chain of any of these soy companies. The decision will have immediate effect for all new contracts of soy purchase.