WHEELS are in motion for another delay in Europe’s ban on the import of goods linked to deforestation, with the European Commission asking for another 12-months.

The import ban was originally set to come into place at the end of 2024, before being delayed to the end of this year.

With concerns the IT system used to implement the regulation will not be ready to handle the demands from importers in time for the 30 December 2025 deadline, European environment commissioner Jessika Roswall wrote to the European Parliament requesting another 12-month delay.

“This would severely impact the achievement of the objectives of EUDR, but also potentially affect trade flows in the areas covered by the legislation,” Ms Roswall said of the flaws in the IT system.

The delay will have to be passed by the European Parliament, which has already voted in favour of changes.

Australian industry on edge

The upcoming legislation has put the Australian beef industry on edge, particularly processors concerned it might render hides worthless – because even hides sent to China eventually find their way to Europe and would be subject to the regulation.

The Australian industry has set up a “geolocating” system to comply with the regulation and has been urgently calling on producers to sign up or risk market access to EU.

Pressure within the EU

Within the EU, the legislation has been under pressure for some time and many have expected that another delay is inevitable.

The European Parliament earlier this year voted in favour of changing the “low, medium and high risk” classification system to add a “no risk” or “negligible risk” category for countries with stable or increasing forest area – with countries fitting into that category not required to do any compliance.

Agriculture ministers from 19 of the 27 EU countries followed that decision by writing to the European Commission calling for changes.

Their main concern is the administrative burden the regulation is putting on importers.

European agricultural production has been in decline, with many blaming the “green” policies for that trend. The decline means Europe is becoming more reliant on imports.

The deforestation regulation covers seven commodities: cattle (including beef), cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and wood.

Many of those commodities feed into other parts of the EU food system, for example the pig and poultry sectors are heavily reliant on imported soybeans.

With those sectors and importers also raising concerns about the regulation, the pressure for changes is likely to remain.