China’s largest food and agricultural company COFCO International and milk product producer Modern Farming Group have signed a ‘deforestation free’ soyabean supply agreement with Brazil, the world’s top supplier of the oilseed, Reuters reported.
The US$30M deal is China’s first soyabean order under a “clear deforestation- and conversion-free (DCF) clause”, according to a statement by the World Economic Forum’s Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA) on 8 November reported by Reuters on the same day.
The agreement was part of a drive to curb commodity export-driven deforestation in global soyabean, beef, palm oil and pulp and paper markets, the report said.
“This purchase order for DCF soyabeans is a milestone and sends a positive market signal from China to the global commodity market,” TFA executive director Jack Hurd was quoted as saying in the statement.
China, which buys grains and meats from leading suppliers including Brazil and the USA, is the main destination for a range of agricultural commodity exports produced in the South American country.
According to its website, TFA is a platform hosted by the World Economic Forum that aims to achieve the transition to deforestation-free supply chains in the palm oil, beef, soyabean and pulp/paper sectors by engaging companies, government authorities and civil society groups.
