UFOP dismisses European Commission’s classification of soybeans as high-ILUC feedstock

Germany’s Union for the Promotion of Oil and Protein Plants (UFOP) announced Feb. 4 that it has dismissed the European Commission’s initiative to classify soybeans as feedstock involving a high risk of indirect land-use change (ILUC) in the future.  

This classification is proposed in the draft amendment to the Delegated Regulation (EU)2019/807.  

The EU Commission has initiated a public-consultation process on this matter.  

UFOP has specifically criticized the fact that, as a result of calculations relating to the expansion of agricultural cropland into areas with a high carbon stock, soybeans are classified across the board as “high-ILUC feedstock.”  

The UFOP has dismissed this approach, making reference to the applicable “polluter-pays” principle. 

The association fears that an across-the-board classification would affect soybean farming in general, including production in the U.S. or Europe.  

According to the UFOP, the EU Commission would undermine the increasingly strict requirements for obtaining sustainability certifications, in particular the obligation to provide dated proof of land use.  

According to EU legislation, biofuels from cultivated biomass can only be counted towards climate objectives if it can be proven that the area in question was used as agricultural cropland prior to January 2008.  

The postponed EU Deforestation Regulation provides for a similar verification requirement.  

The UFOP has pointed out that these arrangements would no longer make sense in the case of soybeans. 

The implications of classifying soybeans—rather than soybean oil, as is the case with palm oil—as a high-risk feedstock have not been adequately considered.  

According to UFOP, the expansion of soybean farming is primarily driven by soybean meal, the soybean component that plays a decisive role in price formation.  

The association fears that an across-the-board classification would eliminate a major sales outlet in the biofuel sector, including for German and European soybean producers.  

At the same time, classifying soybeans as a high-risk feedstock does little to enhance the image of national and European protein strategies, which are also currently being developed, particularly regarding greenhouse-gas balance assessment.  

UFOP has therefore called on the EU Commission to withdraw the draft and to discuss an impact evaluation with the trade associations. 

Regarding the significance of soybean oil as a biofuel feedstock in the EU, UFOP has emphasized the substantial importance of rapeseed oil.  

Accounting for 45 percent, this source is significantly more important than soybean oil, which accounts for only 7 percent. 

With an average oil share of 42 percent, the biofuel market is a key factor in rapeseed pricing and, consequently, in European farmers’ crop-choice decisions.  

UFOP has pointed out that rapeseed cultivation is subject to crop-rotation restrictions, meaning that rapeseed can only be grown on the same land every three to four years.  

As a rotation crop and Europe’s most important source of protein, rapeseed makes a significant contribution to ensuring protein supply, enhancing soil quality and improving biodiversity.  

Plans exist to increase the importance of soybean cultivation in the future.  

But at 7 percent in 2024, the significance of soybeans in terms of biofuel consumption remains relatively low, UFOP pointed out.  

Against this background, UFOP has called for appropriate measures to tackle the root causes of deforestation to prevent further forest loss as far as possible and has urged for the application of the polluter-pays principle. 

The association has drawn attention to the fact that the statistical basis for commodity shares varies significantly depending on the source used.  

This highlights the need for the EU Commission to improve official statistics.  

An EU database that also supports substantiated reporting would provide the required information, the organization noted.