Congo’s Coffee Farmers Breathe Easy As EUDR Delay Grants Them Time – CoffeeTalk

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been granted a one-year reprieve by the European Union to ensure that no land is deforested for coffee and cocoa production. The EU had given the Congolese a January 1, 2025 ultimatum to comply with European requirements or face a blockade of their coffee and cocoa exports. However, the Congolese government claims that the EU has postponed the decision by 12 months.

The EU’s “zero deforestation” policy prohibits the sale of goods resulting from deforestation or forest degradation. From December 2020, the importation of coffee, cocoa, wood, palm oil, soy, rubber, paper, and beef will be barred if they originate from deforested land. The measures have been in force since June 30, 2023.

The EU passed the policy after noticing that part of Asia’s forests had been decimated and replaced by oil palm or rubber plantations, and thousands of hectares of Brazilian forests had been burned down for soya cultivation. Companies importing these products are now obliged to prove the traceability of the goods before entering the European Union.

For environmental organizations, the EU policy is paradoxical, as Europe is responsible for 16% of global deforestation, making it the second-biggest destroyer of the world’s tropical forests after China. The Federation of Congo Enterprises and coffee and cocoa producers have received the EU notice from certification bodies, alerting Foreign Trade Minister Julien Paluku who promised to ensure their products access the European market.

Kinshasa officials feel that Congolese farmers are being unfairly targeted, as the deforestation in the country is minimal compared to other countries. Farmers also say they have made too many efforts and sacrifices to lose the lucrative EU market.

Minister Paluku has assured the business federation that all measures would be taken to prevent this decision from affecting Congolese products. Officials have sought at a tripartite meeting with the European Union and the UN peacekeeping mission Monusco to petition the European bloc to remove Congo from the blacklist of countries that destroy forests.

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