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Sustainable Soy

Policy Position

• The UK is a small player in the complex global market for soy, importing only 0.5%[1] of the world’s annual crop.
• Some UK imports are used by FDF members and we support the need for those imports to be from more sustainable sources.
• To tackle this, we support the aims and the multistakeholder approach of the Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS) to bring certified sustainable soy to the market, which is similar to the approach successfully adopted for the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
• FDF encourages the active participation from its members in this global initiative and looks forward to it delivering against its aims.

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1. HMRC and USDA 2008 figures

Background

In total, over 132.3 million tonnes of vegetable oil are produced worldwide every year, of which 27% is soy oil, the world’s second largest oil crop. USA (24%), China (20%), Argentina (17%) and Brazil (17%) are the biggest producers of soy beans, contributing 79% of the world’s total production.

As part of a global strategy on sustainable sourcing of commodities, the RTRS was formally established in May 2006. The RTRS is a multi-stakeholder process which is intended to build up a global and participatory process that promotes economically viable, socially equitable and environmentally sustainable soy production through principles and criteria (P&C).

Following 18 months of development by RTRS and industry experts, in May 2009 the RTRS published its Principles and Criteria document and began a year of field trials to develop each national application. In 2010 it will review impacts and revise the agreement as necessary to increase effectiveness.

In addition to the RTRS process, the soybean crushing industry in Brazil agreed in July 2006 to a two-year moratorium on the procurement of soy crops from newly deforested land in the Amazon biome; the forested area of the Amazon region in Brazil. The moratorium has subsequently twice been extended, most recently for a further year until July 2010. This initiative is seen as a complement to the RTRS process.

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