"Bunge Supplier fined USD 930,000 for illegal deforestation", 10 October 2024

...A SUPPLIER OF the American multinational Bunge was fined USD 933,150 (BRL 5 million) for destroying an area equivalent to 2,500 football fields in Piauí, in the Northeast of Brazil. Researchers interviewed by Repórter Brasil point out that deforestation in the Cerrado to make way for crops is the primary threat to the state’s wildlife...

The producer received two environmental embargoes...

...However, satellite images from the Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) lab, analyzed by the NGO AidEnvironment at the request of Repórter Brasil, indicate soybean planting on the property during 2023, including in some of the farm’s embargoed areas.

Between 2021 and 2022, the soy producer received loans from Banco John Deere, with resources from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), to purchase agricultural machinery in Piauí...

In March 2024, more than a year after the fines and environmental embargoes, Comparin supplied soybeans to Bunge’s unit in Bom Jesus (PI), a neighboring municipality. According to fiscal documents accessed by Repórter Brasil, the grain’s origin is listed as Comparin Farm, also located in Bom Jesus (PI).

...[I]t is urgent for Bunge to strengthen its supply chain monitoring. “Bunge has a global commitment to eliminate deforestation by 2025. How will the company achieve this if it doesn’t control its direct suppliers? Action is needed now.”

When questioned by the report, Bunge stated that it “does not comment on commercial relationships.” In a note, the company claimed to consider the possibility of “triangulation” of grains “in procedures for analyzing social and environmental restrictions for sourcing” and that it verifies “whether the farm has the capacity to provide the volume being purchased, including on-site checks during harvest and grain loading when necessary.” Read the full statement here.

Igor Comparin’s lawyer, Fernando Chinelli, told the report that the previous owner of São Francisco Farm had an environmental license and had already deforested part of the property. He also explained that Igor Comparin later cleared an area of the farm...

Banco John Deere denied that the machinery financed with BNDES resources was the same as those seen in the images. The company also stated that the property that took out the loans is not the same as the embargoed one and that it followed BNDES and Central Bank rules to approve and maintain the two loans for Comparin...

BNDES informed the report that it would request clarifications on the matter from Banco John Deere. In a note, the institution justified that “it is up to the financial agent to assess the client’s cadastral, legal, fiscal, and environmental situation before contracting, in addition to verifying its regularity throughout the operation’s duration, under penalty of early termination of the financing.” Read the full responses from both institutions here...