ASEAN – EU Coffee Summit 2024
24th May 2024
Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre
Introduction
The ASEAN-EU Coffee Summit was a one-day event organized exclusively for ASEAN Coffee Federation (ACF) members, their associates, and government officials from ASEAN countries, accessible by invitation only.
Breakdown of Attendees
With over 80 attendees, the event was represented by the following:
| Government Department | National Coffee Association |
|---|---|
| Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Cambodia | Specialty Coffee Association of Indonesia |
| Ministry of Trade, Indonesia | Association of Indonesian Coffee Exporters and Industries |
| Department of Agriculture, Lao PDR | Lao Coffee Association |
| Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Lao PDR | Malaysia Specialty Coffee Association |
| Department of Agriculture, Malaysia | Myanmar Coffee Association |
| Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Malaysia | Philippine Coffee Board |
| Farmers Organization Authority, Malaysia | Singapore Coffee Association |
| Ministry of Plantation and Commodities, Malaysia | Thai Coffee Association |
| Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority, Malaysia | Barista Association of Thailand |
| Ministry of Food Industry, Commodity & Regional Development Sarawak, Malaysia | Vietnam Coffee & Cocoa Association |
| Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food Industry, Sabah, Malaysia | |
| Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, Myanmar | |
| Department of Agriculture, Philippines | |
| Enterprise Singapore | |
| Department of Agriculture, Thailand | |
| Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam |
The summit concentrated on two primary topics:
(1) Market Policy, focusing on the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D)
(2) Living & Prosperous Income
- Enhanced understanding of EU regulation and living income in the coffee sector and of the main challenges for an inclusive and effective implementation
- Enhanced understanding of possible solutions and of roles of different stakeholders
- Exploring collaboration opportunities among ASEAN and EU coffee stakeholders
- Commitments to promote sustainable and ethical coffee production
- A mission statement with roadmap for future cooperation and initiatives in the coffee industry for the ASEAN region
Opening Speeches
The opening ceremony featured several speakers. Ms. Siti Salwahanim binti Mohd Nazir, Undersecretary of the International Division, Ministry of Agriculture & Food Security Malaysia, was one of the speakers. Mr. Satvinder Singh, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for the ASEAN Economic Community, and Ms. Vanusia Nogueira, Executive Director of the International Coffee Organization, both participated via video. Mr. Victor Mah, President of the ASEAN Coffee Federation (ACF), also spoke during the ceremony. During his address, Mr. Victor Mah read the ACF mission statement, emphasizing an expanded focus on market policy concerning EU regulations and living prosperous income for coffee producers.
Presentations
A key session of the summit featured a virtual presentation by Ms. Henriette Faergemann, First Counsellor for Environment, Climate Action, and ICT at the Delegation of the European Union to Indonesia. She discussed the EU Deforestation Regulation, detailing its objectives, structure, and requirements.
- Opportunities of the EUDR for different stakeholders.
- Roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders, including the government, private sector, civil society organizations, and national coffee associations.
- Immediate actions for stakeholders to take.
- Legality challenges for smallholder farmers in relation to the EUDR.
- Good practices in the ASEAN region to support a legal and deforestation-free value chain.
This facilitated discussion provided a comprehensive overview of the EUDR’s implications and practical steps for stakeholders to promote sustainable and compliant coffee production.
Following the discussion, Ms. Hannelore Beerlandt presented an overview of the tools and support opportunities related to the implementation of EUDR and CS3D. Additionally, Mr. Christopher Wunderlich, Facilitator of the ICO-CPPTF Technical Workstream on Living Prosperous Income, discussed the concept of Living Prosperous Income and steps to close the living income gap.
As case studies, the event invited Ms. Laura Elphick, Director of Coffee Education & Engagement at Starbucks APAC, and Mr. Danny Juddin, Implementation Manager at GIZ Indonesia, SASCI+, Coffee++, co-presenting with Mr. Wouter De Smet, Green Coffee Farmer Connect Manager at Nestlé, to discuss what the private sector is doing to improve the living income of producers.
Ms. Laura shared information about Starbucks’ Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices (C.A.F.E. Practices), while Mr. Danny and Mr. Wouter discussed the Coffee++ Project, a follow-up to the Coffee+ project (Improving Smallholder Coffee Farming Systems in Southeast Asia), a collaboration between GIZ and Nestlé.
Presentation Slides by Mr. Danny Juddin
ACF Roadmap
The second half of the summit discussed the ACF draft roadmap – ACF Action Areas for Compliance & Improving Living Income. Attendees were asked to complete a short survey on whether they agreed with the roadmap and which action area they believed would be most important for ACF.
Survey results found that information dissemination was the top priority, while public and private sector collaboration came in second. At the same time, there was feedback from the floor that the concepts of the roadmap were too vague or “too good to be true.” Concerns were raised about the feasibility of implementing the roadmap, and there was consensus that adequate funding would be necessary. Therefore, the roadmap is a work in progress and will need further refinement. The attendees agreed that developing and implementing the roadmap is an ongoing process.
Some discussion points raised during the working group sessions were:
1) The importance of communicating living income benchmarks not only to the international market, but also within the country as domestic consumption is growing
2) The link between living income, EUDR, and CS3D is not clear. There is a need for more explanation and rationale for connecting these concepts
3) Potential for national associations to monitor price of coffee and the impact of price on farmers, which should be communicated to ACF to understand the impact of EUDR on the ASEAN region and its producers
Closing Remarks
ACF’s President, Mr. Victor Mah, and Executive Director, Mr. Steven Tan closed the summit by agreeing that the roadmap is something to pursue and execute. At the same time, the ACF Board recognized the need for more people on the ground to work on the matter, emphasizing that it is not the effort of a single entity but a collective group of people. They urged government agencies to work closely with respective associations and highlighted the need for support from these agencies and authorities.