Brazil’s biggest soy producers have withdrawn from the soy moratorium, a pledge to avoid Amazon deforestation. This move threatens President Lula’s goal to end deforestation by 2030. Early this week, the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries, representing major soy traders, announced its exit from the pact. The moratorium, launched in 2006, helped reduce deforestation by banning soy from newly cleared Amazon land. However, recent state legislation ending tax benefits for participants led to the withdrawal. Environmentalists warn this could increase deforestation. The government plans to rely on enforcement and incentives to curb forest loss.
