Danone abandons Brazilian soybeans in favor of supplies from Asia

French dairy giant Danone has stopped buying soybeans from Brazil and is now buying them from Asian countries, the company’s chief financial officer told Reuters. The refusal is due to the introduction of the European Union’s European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

Nestle and Unilever are also preparing to comply with new EUDR rules before facing fines of up to 20% of turnover.

In a 2023 report, Danone said it used 262,000 tons of soy products to feed cows and 53,000 tons of beans directly in the production of soy milk and soy yogurt.

“We no longer buy soybeans from Brazil,” Chief Financial Officer Juergen Esser said Thursday, adding that the company now imports soybeans ‘entirely’ from Asia. He did not provide details on exactly when the company made the switch or which countries it now purchases from. As the company previously reported, Brazil accounted for 18% of shipments.

Brazil is forecast to produce a record 161 million tons of soybeans this season. The agricultural giant is the world’s largest soybean producer, and as Europe reduces imports, soybean shipments from Brazil to China currently exceed one million tons per week.

Danone competitor Nestle also stopped buying Brazilian soybeans from commodities giant Cargill in 2019. Competitor Unilever, which uses soybean oil in its Hellmann’s condiments and Knorr products, still buys soy from Brazil and says its suppliers comply with strict zero deforestation requirements.

Earlier, due to implementation difficulties, the European Commission proposed delaying the introduction of the anti-deforestation law by 12 months, with the law due to take effect on December 30 this year.

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Tags: Brazil, soybean, Danone, Asia