"Amazon deforestation may rise 30% as major traders exit historic soy pact", 02 February 2026

...Major soy traders operating in Brazil announced in early January that they would abandon one of the world’s most successful zero-deforestation agreements...

The coup de grâce to the 20-year-long soy moratorium, under which companies voluntarily agreed to ban soy grown in areas deforested after 2008, came from the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries(Abiove). Representing some of the world’s largest soy traders, like Cargill, Bunge, Amaggi and ADM, the trade association announced in a statement on Jan. 5 that it “began negotiations to withdraw from the Soy Moratorium Commitment Agreement”...

The decision followed a new law in Mato Grosso state, Brazil’s largest soy producer. The legislation, which went into effect Jan. 1, allows the state government to suspend tax breaks to companies adopting environmental criteria beyond those required by Brazilian law, such as the soy moratorium.

Mato Grosso’s new law is part of a counteroffensive led by farmers, ranchers and local politicians against the federal government’s crackdown on illegal deforestation and increasing pressure from international markets for deforestation-free products...

According to WWF’s Voivodic, Brazilian traders may also face challenges in reaching large international retailers such as Carrefour, Tesco and Walmart, which have adopted zero-deforestation policies. From the end of 2026, companies importing soy-based products into the European Union will also have to comply with the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR), which will ban products originating in areas deforested after 2020...