Brazilian soy traders move to exit Amazon soy moratorium, raising deforestation concerns
Members including ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Cofco and Louis Dreyfus Company, later confirmed in a statement that it had initiated talks to exit the agreement.
BRAZIL – A lobby group representing Brazil’s leading grain trading and oilseed crushing companies has informed the government of Mato Grosso that it and many of its members are withdrawing from the Amazon soy moratorium.
The moratorium is a landmark agreement that has for nearly two decades restricted soybean sourcing from newly deforested land in the rainforest.
The soy moratorium bars signatory companies from purchasing soybeans grown on farms in the Amazon biome that were deforested after July 2008.
The pact has been widely cited by environmental groups, global food companies, and investors as one of the most effective private-sector mechanisms for reducing deforestation linked to agricultural expansion.
In an announcement, Mato Grosso Governor Mauro Mendes said the Brazilian Vegetable Oil Industry Association (Abiove) had officially notified the state government that the association and major traders were leaving the pact.
The move follows a change in state tax law that came into effect on January 1, 2026, removing tax incentives for companies that adhere to the moratorium.
Abiove, whose members include ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Cofco and Louis Dreyfus Company, later confirmed in a statement that it had initiated talks to exit the agreement.
The moratorium is supported by Brazil’s federal government as well as domestic and international conservation organizations. By December 29, Abiove and around two-thirds of the companies that previously participated no longer appeared on the moratorium’s official website.
WWF said the decision represents a major setback for forest protection efforts in Brazil.
According to WWF, the departure of major traders from the pact “weakens one of the most effective instruments for combating deforestation in the country,” while also exposing farmers and supply chains to rising climate-related risks.
Greenpeace also criticized the move, arguing that it undermines commitments made to investors and international markets that increasingly demand deforestation-free agricultural supply chains.
The soy moratorium was introduced in 2006 amid mounting global pressure on Brazil’s soy sector, particularly from European buyers, food manufacturers, and retailers concerned about deforestation in the Amazon.
Since its adoption, multiple studies and assessments by academic institutions and NGOs have credited the agreement with sharply reducing direct links between soy expansion and forest loss in the Amazon biome, even as Brazil became the world’s largest soybean exporter.
However, opposition to the pact has grown within parts of the farming community, especially in Mato Grosso, Brazil’s largest soybean-producing state.
Aprosoja-MT, which represents soybean farmers in the state, welcomed Abiove’s announcement.
The group described the decision as a victory, claiming the moratorium is illegal and discriminatory against producers who already comply with the Brazilian Forest Code, which mandates the preservation of native vegetation on private land.
Abiove said that, following an exit, companies will remain individually responsible for meeting their own environmental and sustainability commitments.
“The legacy of monitoring and the expertise acquired over nearly 20 years will not be lost,” the association said.
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