A large group of influential salmon producers, feed companies and retailers called on ADM, Bunge, Cargill, COFCO International, Louis Dreyfus and Glencore, six of the world’s largest commodity traders -- all of whom have involvement in the aquaculture supply chain -- to up their efforts on Brazilian deforestation.

The group asked the traders to commit to eradicating deforestation and natural habitat conversion linked to the production of soy from Brazil’s Cerrado biome from their supply chains.

The international Steering Group of the Cerrado Manifesto Statement of Support (SoS) had already written to the soy traders in November to request they set a 2020 deforestation and conversion-free cut-off date for soy from the Cerrado region, for both direct and indirect sourcing.

This request, signed by Grieg Seafood, BioMar, Cermaq, Farne Salmon & Trout, Leroy, Labeyrie, New Zealand King Salmon, Nordlaks and SalMar, among many big retail names, was supported by a call for robust traceability, transparency metrics and for monitoring, verification and reporting (MVR) systems to be put in place.

Five of the six traders responded but none agreed to the requests outlined.

“Our objective is to end soy driven deforestation and conversion in the Brazilian Cerrado and at the same time see Brazilian soy farmers thrive and expand their business on existing agricultural land," said SoS Co-Chair and Head of Global Communications at Grieg Seafood Kristina Furnes.

"We have closely followed the development of a local Brazilian mechanism that would achieve our goal and ensure payment to the farmers who halt soy related deforestation on their land, and several supply chain companies had committed funding to the mechanism at the time it was supposed to be launched. We were sad to see the Brazilian soy traders leave the negotiating table at the last minute. Their continued lack of sufficient action to halt deforestation is increasing the risk for the entire Brazilian soy industry.”

Cargill under fire

Last month NGO Rainforest Foundation Norway urged salmon producers and retailers to boycott Cargill and animals raised with the US agri-giant's feed because of the company's continued links to deforestation in Brazil through its soy purchases.

It follows a move in June by global salmon giant Grieg to exclude Cargill Aqua Nutrition from the proceeds of its NOK 1 billion ($103 million/$92 million) green bond until its parent company Cargill has significantly reduced its soy-related deforestation risk in Brazil.

The move means that Grieg cannot use any money from the bond -- meant for commercializing new feed ingredients or innovative feed that improves fish health and welfare -- on Cargill, despite the large number of interesting projects the feed giant has in this area.

“As a company with Brazilian soy in our value chain, we are deeply concerned about the current developments in Brazil,” Grieg’s Global Communications Manager Kristina Furnes told IntraFish about the decision at the time.

Although Cargill's subsidiary Cargill Aqua Nutrition in Norway certifies soy from the same producers in Brazil as the other salmon feed suppliers and producers including Biomar, Skretting and Mowi, parent company Cargill continues to be linked to Amazon deforestation.

Cargill Aqua Nutition noted the soy it purchases for its salmon feed is 100-percent ProTerra, RTRS or organic certified, and told IntraFish in June that the broader parent company has made "significant progress" in sustainable sourcing.

"We know there is work to be done, and we’re accelerating our efforts in this area, including a focus on innovative solutions that are economically viable for farmers," CEO Pilar Cruz told IntraFish at the time.

Alarming numbers

Forest and native vegetation loss in Brazil continues to accelerate at alarming rates. Last year alone, 6,500 square kilometers (an area seven times the size of Berlin) was cleared from the Cerrado, the largest savanna region in South America – adding to the 283,000 square kilometers of forest, grassland and scrub converted since 2001.

The Cerrado currently produces around 60 percent of Brazil’s soy, about 20 times the amount produced in the Amazon. Despite its environmental importance as both a biodiversity hotspot and a critically important carbon sink, the Cerrado remains one of the least protected regions in Brazil.