Posted on May, 14 2007

Sao Paulo, Brazil – With over 50 members already on board, who together represent more than 20 per cent of the world soy trade, the newly established Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS) held its first General Assembly in Sao Paulo on 8-9 May 2007.

Besides electing the RTRS's executive board, the General Assembly also kicked off the process for developing globally applicable criteria for responsible soy production and trade.

Established in November 2006, the RTRS is a global association of soy producers, processors and traders, as well as financial institutions and non-governmental organizations, created to address the mounting demand for environmentally and socially sound soy production. The RTRS provides stakeholders and interested parties with the opportunity to develop global solutions leading to responsible soy production.

“The RTRS is going to create a sea change in the soy industry,” said ABN Amro's Christopher Wells, who was elected President of the RTRS Executive Board by the General Assembly. "Soy can be produced and sourced in a profitable way respecting both people and nature."

Soybeans are used in the production of edible oil, cosmetics, foods, and feed for cattle, pigs and poultry. Global demand for soy is expected to increase by 60 per cent in the next 20 years, driven mainly by a high demand in the European Union and China, where the crop is used to feed pigs, chickens and cattle. Unless soy is produced responsibly and more sustainably, expanding soybean cultivation is likely to destroy nearly 22 million hectares of tropical forests and savannah in South America by 2020 — an area equivalent to five times the size of Switzerland.

In addition to Mr Wells, the General Assembly also elected four Vice Presidents to the RTRS Executive Board. The four are from ABIOVE, Desarrollo Agrícola del Paraguay, Grupo Maggi, and WWF. The Executive Board has 15 seats, 5 for each of the three constituencies i.e. “producers”, “industry, trade & finance” and “civil society”.

An immediate task of the RTRS is to develop globally applicable criteria for the production, processing and trading of soy in a responsible manner. An international working group will be set up to carry out this task. Group members will be drawn from nominations to be invited soon. ProForest, a UK consultancy, has been selected to coordinate the group.

The General Assembly participants agreed that the draft principles discussed at the second soy roundtable conference in Asunción in August last year constitute a starting point for the criteria development work. These principles include such issues as protecting biodiversity loss through conversion of natural habitats to agriculture, better agricultural practices, and full compliance with labour laws.

"There is a strong growing commitment among key players in the soy sector to develop and adopt criteria to ensure responsibility within the supply chain," said Carlos Alberto de Mattos Scaramuzza, WWF Brazil's Conservation Director for Thematic Programmes, who sits on the RTRS Executive Board. "The criteria will provide the industry with a market mechanism to address key negative environmental and social impacts of soy production and its expansion.”

The Swiss government, through the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), has been providing financial and technical support to the RTRS process since its initiation. Rudolf Baerfuss, the Swiss ambassador to Brazil, who attended the General Assembly, confirmed his government's continued commitment to the RTRS.

For more information:
Bella Roscher, International Coordinator
WWF Forest Conversion Initiative
Tel: +41-44 297 2106
E-mail: bella.roscher@wwf.ch