Supermar­kets call for preserva­tion of soy agreement

Dutch supermarkets are calling on international soy traders to uphold the Brazil Soy Moratorium. The agreement is intended to prevent soy from originating in deforested areas of the Amazon.

The Centraal Bureau Levensmiddelenhandel (CBL) therefore prepared a Dutch version of an open letter from British retailers. With this step, Dutch supermarket chains are sending the same message.

Call to international soy trade

The letter is directed at major soy traders such as Cargill, Bunge and Cofco. The reason is that several traders have withdrawn from the Brazil Soy Moratorium. This voluntary agreement has been in place since 2006. It excludes soy originating from land in the Amazon region that was deforested after 2008. The moratorium is widely regarded as an effective tool to combat deforestation. Since its introduction, around 17,000 km² of deforestation is estimated to have been prevented.

Dutch supermarkets consider it important that no deforestation takes place. They are therefore calling on traders to remain committed to the moratorium. If that does not happen, they are asking for an equivalent and verifiable alternative that prevents further deforestation.

British retailers previously issued open letter

The Dutch letter follows a recent open letter from British retailers. Among others, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda expressed their concerns about traders withdrawing.

This development was previously reported by The Guardian. Dutch supermarkets are now voicing the same position through the CBL and are calling on soy traders to continue working toward deforestation-free soy.

Cbl.nl