A judge in Brazil has reportedly issued an injunction suspending a move by the country’s competition watchdog to halt the Amazon Soy Moratorium.
Last week, CADE, Brazil’s competition regulator, ordered traders to halt the 2006 agreement – designed to protect the Amazon rainforest – citing concerns over companies sharing information.
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Soy traders had ten days to comply with the instruction or face fines.
CADE’s move had angered environmental pressure groups, with one campaigner calling the decision “the biggest example of punching yourself in the face in conservation history”.
Brazil’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change had also “expressed concern” at CADE’s ruling.
Yesterday, Reuters reported Judge Adverci Rates had sided with Abiove, the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries, to suspend CADE’s decision until a panel at the regulator weighs up an appeal from the trade body.
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By GlobalDataAccording to the Agência Brasil news agency, the judge said CADE’s decision did not take into account the opinions of Brazil’s Federal Public Ministry, the country’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and its Attorney General’s Office.
“The Soy Moratorium, in effect since 2006, is voluntary in nature, comprises several public and private entities and has been recognised as an instrument for fostering sustainable development,” the news agency quoted the judge as saying. “In summary judgment, its immediate dismantling by a single-judge decision, without any collegial debate and without concretely addressing the technical arguments presented in the original proceedings, seems disproportionate and premature.”
Just Drinks has approached CADE for comment.
The soy moratorium was created to ensure the production of the ingredient in the Amazon region only occurs on existing agricultural land.
According to FAIRR, an organisation advising investors on ESG issues in the animal protein sector, soy-related deforestation has decreased while Amazonian soy production has risen by 400% since the moratorium was implemented, “showing that forest protection and agricultural expansion can be compatible”.
In a LinkedIn post last week in the wake of CADE’s decision, Glenn Hurowitz, the founder of campaign group Mighty Earth, hit out at the regulator.
Hurowitz said the moratorium had saved around 18,000 square kilometres of rainforest from destruction and called CADE’s move “the biggest example of punching yourself in the face in conservation history”.
He added: “This voluntary policy has for 19 years been the single most important model for private sector conservation in the world. Its foundation is simple: the largest agribusinesses agreed not to buy soy animal feed from plantations that bulldozed the Amazon.
“The reason the meat and feed companies adopted the policy in the first place was that their customers told them they didn’t want to sell chicken cutlets, ham, or farmed salmon that was killing anteaters, sloths, or other endangered animals. This policy prevented the bottom from falling out of demand for Brazilian soy.”
In a statement issued last week, Brazil’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change said the soy moratorium had “yielded undeniable results for environmental protection”.
It added: “The agreement’s longevity demonstrates its success and the absence of elements that could, in and of themselves, characterise a purchasing cartel that would justify a preventive measure.”
