“The regulation will directly affect stakeholders in the supply chains and impact the livelihoods of farmers, especially the smallholders, who make up the majority of Vietnam’s coffee production,” said Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Le Minh Hoan.
“They will face many challenges, particularly in terms of location data, traceability, monitoring systems, and deforestation-free supply chain management,” he told a news conference on Thursday (Jun 29) in Hanoi.
Industry players said that most of Vietnam’s coffee production does not flout the new EU rule, as a majority of its plantations were established decades ago.
“Deforestation is no longer a concern in Vietnam’s coffee industry,” said Mr Nguyen Xuan Loi, chief executive officer of An Thai Group, a company that supplies instant coffee.
“Vietnam’s coffee plantations are grown on lands that are stable. It is extremely rare for coffee trees to be grown on deforested land,” he added.
The main challenge, industry sources said, is the process of providing evidence that their goods are in compliance with the new law.