In 2023, the European Union (EU) launched mandatory rules for all firms that the raw material to Europe do not originate from deforested land. To avoid heavy fines, all firms must prove compliance by the end of 2024, and coffee industries is also impacted, especially from Africa.
"We're not seeing many buyers this year," Tsegaye Anebo, general manager of Ethiopia's Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, told DW. Typically, farmers receive orders for beans that will be sold in supermarkets and shops months later, but Anebo said the unclear consequences of the new EU regulations have created a "sense of ambiguity in the market." His observation is shared by several other African traders, such as the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperatives Union, which has raised concerns over EU companies shunning their products.
The EU's anti-deforestation law, known as EUDR, has garnered praise from environmental organizations, including Greenpeace, for assuring Europeans that the items in their shopping carts are not sourced from deforested areas. However, critics argue the new laws may penalize smallholder coffee farmers around the world, particularly in Africa, possibly resulting in a coffee shortage in Europe.
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