Hogan rejects ‘inaccurate’ criticism of EU-Mercosur deal
European Union agriculture commissioner Phil Hogan has rejected criticism of the EU/Latin American Mercusor trade deal, saying critics are exploiting environmental concerns to block efforts to boost free trade.Irish Times, 05 July 2019
Europe, Brazil, Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Beef, beef trade, deforestation, amazon
Expert slams EU for anti-palm oil rule without consulting producers
A Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) expert has slammed the European Commission for a recent regulation labelling palm oil as unsustainable.Free Malaysia Today, 04 July 2019
Malaysia, Europe, Palm Oil, anti palm oil, palm oil ban
Scares around standard of imported foods under Mercosur deal could see products banned from EU
"Scares" around the quality of South American food will trigger a “red button” that results in a ban on products imported from that firm or region under safeguards built into the new Mercosur trade deal.Irish Examiner, 03 July 2019
Europe, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Beef, deforestation, mercosur trade deal, beef trade
In 2018, Cameroon headed the Top10 wood suppliers to Vietnam
Cameroon headed the top10 of Vietnam’s wood suppliers in 2018, the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) reveals in its sectoral report covering the June 16-30, 2019 period. Let’s note that despite the FLEGT (Forest Law for Enforcement, Governance and Trade) regulation deemed more stringent on the origin of wood imported by the European Union, this common area remained the leading destination for Cameroonian woods in 2018. China came second according to figures published by the ITTO.Business in Cameroon, 03 July 2019
Cameroon, Viet Nam, Europe, Timber, ITTO, FLEGT
Smallholders have nothing to fear, assures EU envoy
OIL palm smallholders, who produce 40% of the crop in Malaysia, have nothing to fear about Europe’s latest law on the commodity, said Maria Castillo Fernandez, the region’s top envoy to the country.The Malaysian Insight , 03 July 2019
Europe, Malaysia, Palm Oil, palm oil ban
Mercosur Agreement: the EU Turned a Blind Eye to the Concerning Situation in Brazil
By signing a trade agreement with the South American trade bloc Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay), the European Union has missed a chance to stand firm on European principles. Slow Food Europe regrets that the main concerns, earlier expressed by more than 300 organizations over the deteriorating human rights and environmental situation in Brazil, have been ignored.Slow Food, 01 July 2019
Europe, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Beef, deforestation, mercosur trade deal, beef trade
South America gives mixed response to EU trade deal
The trade deal between the European Union and South America’s Mercosur trade bloc has been greeted with anger by Irish beef farmers, but there has been no corresponding euphoria from Latin American competitors.Irish Times, 01 July 2019
Europe, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Beef, EU trade deal, beef trade deal, mercosur deal
European elections put palm oil at risk
The European parliamentary elections last month resulted in a significant and challenging outcome, especially for the palm oil industry.The Jakarta Post, 24 June 2019
Europe, Palm Oil, european election, palm oil ban
EU urged to stop Mercosur trade talks over Brazilian deforestation
Food Navigator, 20 June 2019
Europe, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Beef, deforestation
100 percent sustainable palm oil is possible, claim European suppliers as 2020 targets loom
Europe’s food manufacturers and retailers need to choose certified sustainable palm oil instead of backing messages to drop palm oil altogether. That is the assertion from the European Palm Oil Alliance (EPOA) which has joined forces with other industry associations, stakeholder companies, and civil society bodies, to urge all European stakeholders to get behind the Sustainable Palm Oil Choice (SPOC) initiative.Food Ingredients First, 17 June 2019
Europe, Palm Oil, 2020 targets
Eating eggs, pork, and chicken in Europe increases deforestation in Brazil
Environmental organization Greenpeace allerted on Tuesday, June 11th, that eating eggs, chicken or pork in Europe increases deforestation in Brazil and Argentina.Rio Times Online, 13 June 2019
Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay, Soy, deforestation
“Alarmingly low” sustainable, responsible and no-deforestation imports for soy and palm oil in EU, claims report
Europe is “dangerously behind” when it comes to meeting its responsible sourcing and no-deforestation pledges, according to sustainable trade initiative IDHFood Ingredients First, 12 June 2019
Europe, Palm Oil, deforestation, Sustainable sourcing
The EU’s Inconsistency Towards Malaysia and Palm Oil
A new EU document commenting on Malaysia’s record on ‘human rights and democracy’ exposes the inconsistency in EU policy towards Malaysia, and specifically Malaysia’s major export commodity, palm oil.The Oil Palm, 11 June 2019
Europe, Malaysia, Palm Oil, human rights and democracy, eu palm oil ban
Europe’s Latest Push to Target Palm Oil Gathers Pace
Despite 2019 being an election year, the EU has continued to be in active in pushing regulations targeted at palm oil. The Renewable Energy Directive (RED) Delegated Act banning palm oil biofuels was finalised in May – it will take effect in 2021. The EU has also spent 2019 continuing its progress on the Action Plan on Deforestation, launching a Feedback and Public Consultation on how to proceed with a new Deforestation Regulation.The Palm Oil reports, 06 June 2019
Europe, Palm Oil, EU, Palm oil, Deforestation Regulation
EU wants cooperation over sustainable palm oil
Indonesia and the European Union need to further promote cooperation over sustainable palm oil to help ease the tension between Jakarta and Brussels over the latter’s move to phase out the use of crude palm oil in biofuel by 2030, an EU representative has said.The Jakarta Post , 03 June 2019
Indonesia, Europe, Palm Oil, indonesia
China in barter deal for 200,000 tonnes of Malaysian palm oil: report
Outgoing Sime Darby executive deputy chairman and managing director Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh is confident that Malaysian palm oil would still enter the European Union market despite a ban on using it as biofuel.The Leaders Online , 01 June 2019
Malaysia, China, Europe, Palm Oil, EU ban
The Honduran government and the EU have approved Honduras’s FLEGT VPA 2019 annual operation plan
The Honduran government and the EU have approved Honduras’s FLEGT VPA 2019 annual operation plan and latest reports are that there is widespread support for the agreement, particularly in terms of levels of participation and engagement of the wider population. The Honduran government and the EU have approved Honduras’s FLEGT VPA 2019 annual operation plan and latest reports are that there is widespread support for the agreement, particularly in terms of levels of participation and engagement of the wider population.FLEGT, 01 June 2019
Europe, Timber, FLEGT
Malaysian palm oil will still have market in the EU
The Malaysian palm oil will still have its market in the European Union (EU), despite the trading bloc’s decision to phase out palm oil- based biofuel, says Sime Darby Plantation Bhd.Nam News Network , 01 June 2019
Malaysia, Europe, Palm Oil, biofuel
FLEGT sustainability credentials and procurement pull-through focus of IMM Trade Consultation
IMM Trade Analyst Rupert Oliver summarised recent development of the wider tropical timber trade, looking particularly at the diminishing role of Europe as a market player. While global tropical timber sales had fluctuated in the last 15 years, the underlying trend had been upwards, he said.FLEGT, 30 May 2019
Europe, Timber, EU Timber Regulation
Call on EU to reclassify M’sian oil palm cultivation activities
MALAYSIA is calling on the European Union (EU) to redefine oil palm cultivation activities in the country which have been classified as high-risk, while aiming to further negotiate on the bloc’s directive to restrict the usage of biofuels.Malaysian Reserve , 30 May 2019
Europe, Malaysia, Palm Oil, EU
FLEGT’s profile in promotion and marketing is low relative to certification
IMM’s latest study on EU wood promotion revealed that Europe’s timber and wood products sector has stepped up the level of its marketing and advertising activity and the clarity, cohesion and effectiveness of its communications in recent years.FLEGT, 30 May 2019
Europe, Timber, FLEGT
Furniture News reports: Will we ever stop illegal timber imports?
It has been six years since the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) came into effect, prohibiting the placing of illegally harvested timber in the European market.Furniture News , 30 May 2019
Europe, Timber, EU Timber Regulation
Pressure mounts on EU to curb Brazilian deforestation, human rights abuses
Concern is rising among Brazilian socioenvironmental NGOs and internationally over the new threats to indigenous people and rising deforestation seen under President Jair Bolsonaro — his administration completed its first 100 days in office in April.Mongabay, 30 May 2019
Europe, Soy,
VPA / FLEGT comes into force: Timber to the EU is unlikely to be an immediate breakthrough
VCN - Officially coming into effect on June 1, 2019, the Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forestry Law Enforcement, Forest Governance and Trade in Forest Products between Vietnam and the EU (VPA / FLEGT) does not immediately create a breakthrough for the export of timber and timber products, but in the long term, it will open many opportunities for this group of products into the EU market.Customs News , 29 May 2019
Europe, Timber, EU Timber Regulation
The Cattle Site reports: IFA Demands Beef be Taken Off EU/Mercosur Negotiations
EU - The Irish Farmers’ Association has demanded that EU Trade Commissioner Cecelia Malmstrom take beef off the table in the EU/Mercosur negotiations.The Cattle Site , 28 May 2019
Europe, Beef, europe