Deforestation: FRUCOM products not included in final Commission legislative proposal on deforestation-free products

The European Commission published on 17 November its legislative proposal on deforestation-free products ( Regulation to minimise EU-driven deforestation and forest degradation)

The regulation initially targets the following six commodities: beef, wood, palm oil, soya, coffee and cocoa. Some of their derived products – for example leather, chocolate or furniture – are included in the scope. These have been proposed based on the findings in the Impact Assessment of the initiative.

The Commission proposes a progressive scope of the commodities to be regulated, This will be based on a review that will take place two years from the entry into force of the Regulation and thereafter, at regular interval thereby allowing a progressive product scope. The amendment of the list of products will be carried out through delegated act.

A benchmarking system operated by the Commission will identify countries as presenting a low, standard or high risk of producing commodities or products that are not deforestation-free or in accordance with the legislation of the producer country. Obligations for operators and authorities will vary according to the level of risk of the country or region of production, with simplified due diligence duties for products coming from low-risk and enhanced scrutiny for high-risk areas.

The Regulation sets mandatory due diligence rules for operators which place these commodities on the EU market, as well as some derived products. Operators will be required to collect the geographic coordinates of the land where the commodities they place on the market were produced.

More information: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/publications/proposal-regulation-deforestation-free-products_en

Contact: Lebo Mofolo, lmofolo@frucom.eu