Bunge and other members of the Soy Working Group (Grupo de Trabalho da Soja, or GTS) recently renewed a voluntary industry moratorium on purchasing soy harvested from recently deforested areas of the Amazon biome. Environmental groups and the Brazilian government have credited the moratorium with limiting the expansion of soybean farming in the region.

Bunge and other members of Brazil's vegetable oil and grain exporting industries created the moratorium in July 2006 to relieve pressure on the Amazon biome so that work could be undertaken by government, industry, farmers and environmental groups to ensure its long-term protection. The first two-year agreement was extended until July 2009, and has now been renewed for second time, remaining in effect until July 2010.

Third-party studies continue to show the moratorium’s effectiveness in reducing the expansion of soybean farming in the Amazon biome. In 2008, independent scientific agencies using satellite imaging and other surveying techniques monitored approximately 158,000 hectares of land deforested since August 2006. Soybean crops were identified on less than 1 percent of the monitored area. The participants of moratorium will not purchase soybeans from these lands.

Members of the Soy Working Group include Bunge and other agribusiness companies and environmental organizations such as WWF, Greenpeace, Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy. Over the past several years, the Working Group has implemented a mapping and monitoring program, educated farmers on environmental best practices and worked with the Brazilian government on zoning policies and enforcement strategies.

This year, the Soy Working Group will focus its efforts on enhancing its monitoring system, supporting the Brazilian government in expanding implementation of land-use policies, continuing to encourage farmers to register their properties and comply with Brazilian environmental laws, and proposing and seeking international funding for economic incentives for farmers to increase forest conservation beyond legal requirements.

Learn more

Read the Soy Working Group’s Annual Report on the 3rd Anniversary of the Soy Moratorium

Read the terms of commitment for the renewal of the Soy Moratorium

Learn more about Bunge's commitment to promoting responsible agriculture in Brazil

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