Strictly comply with EU Deforestation-free Products Regulation

In order to concretize their commitments to "stop and reverse" deforestation and land degradation, European countries have passed bills to ban the import of items related to deforestation. Accordingly, import and export companies will have to trace the origin of imported products sold on the European market to see whether they are produced in areas with deforestation or not.

As a major agro-product exporter to the European market, Vietnam's agricultural industry is expecting many changes upon facing this new regulation. Recently Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan had a meeting with associations and industries to discuss EU Deforestation-free Products Regulation.

According to Mr. Nguyen Hai Nam, Chairman of the Vietnam Coffee - Cocoa Association (VICOFA), coffee exports to Europe account for approximately 42% of Vietnam's total annual coffee exports, with 39% of the exports going to the EU bloc. In order to stabilize market share and not negatively affect agricultural exports to the EU, Vietnam's coffee industry should strictly comply with the deforestation-free regulation which was approved by the European Council and took effect from May 16.

This regulation prohibits the import of agricultural products produced on land deforested. The preparation time after the law takes effect is 18 months for large corporations, 24 months for small and medium enterprises.

The enterprises purchasing coffee for export in Vietnam at the moment are mostly large corporations such as Nestle, JDE, Newman, etc. In the context that the price of green coffee beans is at the peak in the past 15 years (VND 62,000 - 63,000/kg), further promoting action and enforcement of the new regulation is deemed essential.

General Secretary of the Vietnam Rubber Association Vo Hoang Anh said that European businesses have long required rubber products to have sustainable production certificates (FSC, PEFC). Considering the 938,000 ha of rubber in Vietnam, 48% of which are big forests with more than 100,000 ha of PEFC certified.

Possessing an FSC or PEFC certification basically means meeting the new EU regulation on deforestation-free agroproduction. However, it costs a fairly large amount of financial resources to implement and maintain the above two certifications, meanwhile SMEs and farmers have very limited funding, so it is difficult to implement.

Ms. Tran Thi Quynh Chi, Regional Director of the Asian Landscape, Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) proposed to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, specialized agencies and companies to provide data and technical assistance to build a database on forest protection monitoring.

The gathered data sould be synchronized into the database of planting area codes managed by the Department of Crop Production and the Department of Plant Protection, proceeding to build a national-level system of the database on forest monitoring and protection.

"The published regulation clearly shows the change in the world's consumption trend. This is an opportunity for us to restructure the industry, even the entire agricultural sector and the image of the country. The more we deal with it half-heartedly, the greater the consequences businesses and people have to bear," said Minister Le Minh Hoan.

Minister Le Minh Hoan believed that this is the right time for associations and industries to activate public-private partnerships, becoming a bridge between state management agencies, businesses and farmers. "It is recommended that the advisory agencies of the Ministry submit an action framework and consult with associations and industries to soon have an implementation program in line with new EU regulation".

In the current context, the production and trade of agro-products need to be oriented towards sustainable development along the value chain, not expanding the area but increasing product quality and value as well as improving the livelihoods of communities.

According to Mr. Nguyen Huu Thien, Director of the Department of Forest Protection, forest rangers are tasked with monitoring forest developments nationwide, so the forest map for reference is always available. Department of Forest Protection therefore wishes to have the companionship of the functional units of Vietnam and the EU, industry associations, businesses and farmers to verify the lost forest area as soon as possible.