EU Green Deal: Beef unclear on new deforestation rules

While full compliance is scheduled for the start of 2025, the European Commission has issued a comprehensive set of rules for deforestation-free product supply which says beef, along with five other commodities, can not come from land deemed to be deforested after December 31 2020.

That means cattle on the ground now might be affected; although Department of Agriculture representatives said their understanding was that once the proposed regulation entered into force - which is still to occur - exporters would have 18 months to implement the new rules.

The due diligence rules include requirements for operators to collect the geographic coordinates of the land where the commodities were produced.

That is a bit more complex for beef than it is for the other affected commodities like coffee and soy, given cattle move from property to property and have multiple owners.

Some livestock industry people in Australia have interpreted the wording as indicating EU countries may be looking for satellite tracking of cattle.

Both the department and Meat & Livestock Australia say questions on technical details can really only be answered by the EU.

However, the Federal Government told Farmonline it was confident that the new EU land clearing protections would not hurt Australian producers, given Australia's environmental regulations and the agriculture industry's focus on sustainability.

"We understand that obligations for exporters and the volume of their commodities inspected at EU borders will vary according to the level of risk of the country or region of production, with simplified due diligence requirements and reduced inspection for products coming from low-risk areas," a government spokesperson said.

Commentary has been widespread in global beef circles that the EU plans are designed to tackle products coming from cleared rainforest land in places like Brazil.

Equally, however, many concerns have been expressed that Australian beef is also in the EU's sights; or at least will be next.

The government spokesperson said: "Australia has been engaging closely with the EU on the proposal and continues to seek assurances that the proposal accurately assesses Australia's circumstances, and it is implemented in the most efficient and cost-effective manner for Australian operators."

The deforestation policy, a key initiative of the European Green Deal, was adopted by the European Parliament late last year.

The ensuing regulation sets mandatory due diligence rules for operators who place specific commodities on the EU market deemed to be associated with deforestation and forest degradation - beef, soy, palm oil, wood, cocoa and coffee, along with derived products such as leather and furniture.

Its purpose is to ensure that only deforestation-free products are allowed to be sold in Europe.

ALSO SEE: EU Green Deal deforestation flaws, as seen by Aussie beef

The European Commission says the public consultation for this legislative process gathered more than 1.2 million responses, the second most popular in the history of the EU, and showed overwhelming support from European citizens for action to tackle deforestation.

"This initiative will provide a guarantee to EU citizens that the products they consume do not contribute to global deforestation and forest degradation," the EU said.

The new rules mean Australian producers raising cattle due for EU supply in 2025 must have in place the ability to provide the geographic coordinates of the plots of land where the animals grazed. The processors and exporters they sell to will have to provide that information.

The EU Commission rules say: "Using geolocation coordinates is the simplest and most cost-effective way of obtaining the necessary geographic information for authorities to be in a position to check whether products and commodities are deforestation-free. Combining geolocation with remote monitoring via satellite images is expected to boost the effectiveness of the regulation."

Beef industry opinion differs on whether the European deforestation moves represent an opportunity or threat but the general consensus seems to be that the United Kingdom will likely follow suit and eventually Australia's other big beef trading partners.

Agtech pioneers say the trend will fundamentally change traceability requirements in Australia.

David Smith, from Queensland-based Ceres Tags, the world's first animal monitoring information platform with direct-to-satellite capability through a proprietary smart ear tag, sees the new European requirements as a 'fantastic opportunity'.

"If Australia gets on board with this early we can knock our competitors out of the park," he said.

"We have the technology ready to go, which means we can access a very high-value market quickly while our competitors scramble to get ready."

Ceres Tags are solar-powered devices that enable livestock owners to capture real time information on their stock without being on-the-spot.

Mr Smith said there were many questions that still required answers from EU legislators, such as whether live data would be required, or simply end-of-life downloaded data.

"However, what is clear at this stage is that supply chains looking at shipping to the EU need to be putting things in place now," he said.

"The other big advantage in improved traceability is biosecurity. With foot and mouth and lumpy skin diseases on our doorstep, the data remote tracking can provide will be invaluable."

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