Remarkable progress in sourcing soy responsibly

Results published in the European Soy Monitor 2021, points to 40% of soybean meal equivalent of total European soy consumption to be sourced according to the FEFAC Soy Sourcing guidelines and 24% certified deforestation-free soy.

The report also refers to FEFAC’s initial risk assessment which estimates that just under 94% of EU soy imports were sourced from low-deforestation regions, based on EU trade statistics and industry expert assessments.

The figures show good progress continues to be made. Since the publication of the first European Soy Monitor of 2018 estimations, the provisional data for 2021 indicates that FEFAC members reported an increase of 21% over the past 3 years. However, the 40% figure was slightly lower than the 43.8% recorded in 2020.

Pedro Cordero, FEFAC president, welcomed the latest figures: “I am pleased with the continued positive trend that the European feed sector and its supply chain partners have been able to display as regards the industry’s use of responsible soy.

I am confident that we will make further progress on the mainstream market transition of responsible soy use from both imported and home-grown sources

^{Pedro Cordero, FEFAC president}

FEFAC’s internal estimates indicate that a significant part of soy used in the EU in 2021 came from regions with low deforestation risk, including the EU, United States, Canada and Ukraine. These sources are considered “deforestation-free”, although not officially certified as such.

FEFAC has reported that responsible soy and certified deforestation-free soy have continued to gain traction, with total industry usage surpassing 14m tons in 2021.

The soybean trade itself has remained relatively unaffected. Brazil and the United States continue to be the world’s biggest producers and China by far the biggest soy consuming country. European soy production increased from 2.68m tonnes in 2020 to 2.71m in 2021.

The report can be found at European Soy Monitor 2021 – IDH – the Sustainable Trade Initiative