Kenyan coffee faces fresh hurdle in EU forests drive

Kenya’s coffee harvested from deforested land will not be sold in the European Union (EU) from the end of this year as part of new laws by the economic bloc meant to reduce deforestation globally. The new EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) was passed by the European Parliament and European Council in May last year and takes effect on December 30. Under the EUDR, European companies dealing in coffee, soy, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa and rubber in the EU market must prove that the products do not originate from recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation. “By promoting the consumption of ‘deforestation-free’ products and reducing the EU’s impact on global deforestation and forest degradation, the new Regulation is expected to bring down greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss,” said the EU. The regulation requires operators and traders that are not small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to collect geographic coordinates of land where the commodities ...