January 21, 2009
Brazil's soy industry doubles inspections of deforested areas
The Brazilian Vegetable Oils Industry Association on Tuesday said that it will double the number of areas inspected this year in Brazil's Amazon region as part of its soy moratorium.
Independent technical teams will inspect 633 deforested areas in the coming weeks, the largest number of which is in the Amazon Biome area of Mato Grosso, Brazil's No.1 soy producing state, said the association, known as Abiove.
"No soy was found to be grown in deforested areas in 2008, and we expect only a small amount to be found this time," said Fabio Trigueirinho, secretary of Abiove.
The inspections are part of the Brazilian soy moratorium in which major trading companies such as Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) and Bunge (BG) have agreed to not purchase beans from areas deforested after 2006. The technical specialists will determine whether soy have been grown in these deforested areas, said Abiove.
The result of the inspections should be available in about 30 days, Trigueirinho said.
The Amazon Biome covers an area of 419 million hectares, with 549 towns in nine states. Brazil is the world's No. 2 producer of soy after the US.
