Was it produced legally? Due diligence on legal compliance – Brazil

The document examines the legal framework and compliance risks for soy and cattle in Brazil under the EUDR. It highlights systemic issues including land grabbing, illegal deforestation, and labour violations, while warning EU companies that official records and third-party certifications are often insufficient for due diligence.

• The EUDR's 'legality requirement' should be interpreted to include all laws in the country of production that affect the legal status of activities used to produce the commodities, including pre- and post-production activities and their effects on the surrounding area of production.
• Land grabbing is a systemic risk in Brazil's agriculture sector, often facilitated by fragmented land registries and the self-declaratory nature of the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR). Research indicates that nearly 30% of unallocated public forests are covered by illegal CAR registrations.
• Illegal deforestation is widespread in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes. A study found that 91% of forest clearing in the Amazon and 51% in the Cerrado lacked legal authorisation between August 2023 and July 2024.
• Cattle ranching is the primary driver of Amazon deforestation, with over 90% of deforestation in that region attributed to opening pastureland. In the Cerrado, soy production is a major driver, with agricultural land expansion increasing by 529% between 1985 and 2023.
• Soy production in the Amazon and Cerrado faces high legality risks; research from September 2023 suggests that 16% of production occurred on farms violating the Forest Code, with an additional 58% having unverifiable compliance status, totaling 74% actual or potential illegality.
• Labour rights violations, including conditions analogous to slavery, are prevalent in rural areas. More than half of recorded cases between 1995 and 2020 were linked to livestock farming.
• The soy sector is characterized by high pesticide use, which has increased by 338% since 2000. Approximately 25% of the pesticide market in Brazil is estimated to operate in breach of legal standards.
• Traceability in the cattle sector is compromised by the practice of mixing cattle during grazing and fattening, which allows for the 'laundering' of cattle from unlawful sources. The official Animal Transit Guide (GTA) is a sanitary tool, not a dedicated traceability system.
• Voluntary third-party certification schemes for soy, such as the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), are criticized for using 'Mass Balance' and 'Book and Claim' methods that allow non-compliant products to be mixed with compliant ones.
• The 'Time Frame Law' (Law 14.701 of 2023) has increased tensions and violence by attempting to limit Indigenous land rights to areas physically occupied by October 5, 1988, a move criticized for violating international human rights standards.

APA

Rice, M., & Godts, R. (2025). Was it produced legally? Due diligence on legal compliance – Brazil. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/iy0nfrg0/was-it-produced-legally_brazil_clientearth_april-2025.pdf

Chicago

Rice, Michael, and Raphaïlle Godts. Was it produced legally? Due diligence on legal compliance – Brazil. ClientEarth, 2025. https://www.clientearth.org/media/iy0nfrg0/was-it-produced-legally_brazil_clientearth_april-2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rice |first1=Michael |last2=Godts |first2=Raphaïlle |title=Was it produced legally? Due diligence on legal compliance – Brazil |publisher=ClientEarth |date=April 2025 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/iy0nfrg0/was-it-produced-legally_brazil_clientearth_april-2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rice2025was, author = {Rice, Michael and Godts, Raphaïlle}, title = {{Was it produced legally? Due diligence on legal compliance – Brazil}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2025}, month = apr, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/iy0nfrg0/was-it-produced-legally_brazil_clientearth_april-2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }