Bunge, Cofco, ADM and CHS traded soybeans with farmer cited for deforestation in Brazil

A FARMER cited by Ibama (the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) for clearing 1,800 hectares of the Cerrado biome — an area equivalent to almost 2,000 football pitches — in the Brazilian state of Piauí traded his soybean crops with agribusiness multinationals Bunge, Cofco, ADM do Brasil and CHS, documents reviewed by Repórter Brasil show.

Ibama issued the citation against soybean farmer Luciano Márcio Curioni in October 2024. At the time, the environmental agency also imposed an embargo, prohibiting activities in the affected area within Fazenda Três Santos, a farm in Uruçuí, Piauí. Brazilian law prohibits the purchase of products originating from areas under an environmental embargo.

In November 2024, however, following a lawsuit filed by Curioni, a court suspended the embargo. A subsequent ruling reinstated it in December 2025, but its effects were suspended again the following month after the farmer challenged the decision.

In September and October this year, two court rulings once again lifted the suspension. However, the embargo had yet to reappear in the environmental agency’s database when this report was published. The case remains before the federal courts.

Bunge, Cofco, ADM do Brasil and CHS told Repórter Brasil that they had either not traded with Curioni while the embargo on Fazenda Três Santos was in force or had not purchased grain grown on the property.

The farmer, meanwhile, argues that Ibama wrongly classified the conversion of existing pasture into cropland as deforestation (see further details below).

Curioni’s and the companies’ responses can be read in full here.

Soybean sales

In July 2025, soybean farmer Luciano Márcio Curioni signed two supply contracts with Bunge, the world’s leading oilseed processor. The contracts provided for the delivery of 4,200 tonnes of soybeans the following year to the company’s warehouse in Uruçuí, Piauí, the same municipality where Ibama identified the unauthorised deforestation.

Repórter Brasil also obtained 12 invoices from 2026 showing that the farmer sold at least 214 tonnes of soybeans — worth a total of R$432,600 (approximately US$86,200) — to Cofco, ADM do Brasil and CHS, other major companies in the sector.

Soybeans were grown in the area after the citation and the original embargo, according to the Dutch organisation AidEnvironment, which analysed satellite imagery of the embargoed area at Repórter Brasil’s request.

Asked to comment, Bunge said that, while the area was under embargo before the first court-ordered suspension, “the farmer was blocked in Bunge’s systems”. It also said that Curioni “submitted the necessary documentation authorising vegetation clearing”. “After this documentation was verified and the embargo lifted, the client was cleared to resume business with Bunge,” the company said.

CHS, which was also contacted, replied that it “has no records indicating the purchase of grain originating from Fazenda Três Santos for the 2025/26 crop season” and that it could not comment on specific business relationships. ADM said it had not purchased products linked to the embargoed area. Cofco said that “during the embargo period, it did not conduct business with the farmer in question”.

The companies’ responses can be read in full here.

Deforestation could block sales to the European Union

João Gonçalves, Brazil director at Mighty Earth, warns that, from 30 December 2026, products linked to deforestation could be barred from entering the European Union under new legislation adopted by the bloc.

The EUDR (European Union Deforestation Regulation), which takes effect on that date, prohibits soybeans grown on forest land cleared, legally or illegally, after 31 December 2020 from entering EU countries. The law also bans imports if the products were grown in breach of the laws of their country of origin.

Only some parts of Brazil’s Cerrado biome would fall within the EUDR’s definition of forest. According to Repórter Brasil’s analysis of the European Union’s reference map, developed to support the legislation, Curioni’s farm overlaps with one of these areas.

Asked about the destination of the commodities purchased from Curioni, Bunge said it did not publicly comment on transactions involving individual suppliers. It also said it had “monitoring, traceability and risk assessment systems that support its due diligence and regulatory compliance processes” and that “a core component of our EUDR compliance efforts is ensuring that no soybeans harvested from areas deforested after 2020 enter Bunge’s supply chain serving the European Union”.

Cofco said it “continuously monitors the social and environmental practices of its suppliers, while strictly complying with legal requirements and providing supporting documentation to the relevant enforcement agencies, such as Ibama”.

ADM do Brasil and CHS Agronegócios did not comment on potential compliance with the EUDR.

The companies’ responses can be read in full here.

Zero-deforestation policies

The four multinationals identified by Repórter Brasil as having traded with Curioni after Ibama issued the citation promote efforts to combat deforestation as part of their social and environmental policies.

On its website, Bunge says it achieved its zero-deforestation target across its supply chains in 2025, with “100% monitoring and traceability to the farm for direct and indirect soybean sourcing in priority regions”. The company says its “operations and access to raw materials” make it “strategically positioned to be the preferred partner for reducing carbon emissions in fuel supply chains”.

In February 2024, CHS submitted its Annual Progress Report to the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), an international association that promotes responsible soybean trading. In the document, the company said one of its guiding principles was a ban on purchasing grain grown in areas where production is illegal or under embargo.

ADM, in turn, requires its suppliers to refrain from producing on embargoed land or under other conditions that breach the law. Cofco says that, in 2024, 99% of the soybeans it purchased directly and indirectly in Brazil were verified as deforestation-free.

As well as exporting soybeans, Bunge, Cofco and ADM own plants that produce biodiesel from the crop. The fuel is blended into diesel sold at filling stations across Brazil.

“It is not just about the supply chain; it is about humanity on Earth. It is about tackling climate change, ensuring biodiversity survives and safeguarding the rights of traditional peoples,” said João Gonçalves of Mighty Earth.

Farmer says he had authorisation to clear vegetation

In his lawsuit challenging Ibama’s embargo, farmer Luciano Márcio Curioni argues that the measure was imposed without prior notice and without ensuring his right to defend himself.

The soybean farmer also says that Fazenda Três Santos had a valid environmental licence and authorisation to clear vegetation issued by the Piauí State Secretariat for the Environment and Water Resources.

Curioni also questions the fact that enforcement was based exclusively on satellite imagery, with no on-site inspection. “Because of an error in the interpretation of remote sensing data, Ibama’s enforcement officers wrongly classified the conversion of existing pasture into cropland as the unauthorised clearing of native vegetation,” Curioni’s lawyer told Repórter Brasil (read the full response here).

In the December 2025 judgment reinstating the embargo, federal judge Brunno Christiano Carvalho Cardoso said the measure “has technical, legal and factual grounds and falls within the lawful exercise of environmental enforcement powers”.

According to Cardoso, satellite imagery “constitutes legitimate evidence” to justify administrative measures imposed by environmental authorities, and, although Curioni held a valid environmental licence to operate Fazenda Três Santos, the authorisation to clear vegetation submitted in the case had expired in February 2020.

The judgment also states that, after the measure was imposed, the environmental agency notified the farmer so that he could submit his defence. It adds that higher courts recognise “the possibility of allowing the affected party to contest the measure at a later stage” in cases requiring “an immediate response from the state”, such as environmental damage.

In January 2026, after Curioni challenged the judgment, a court again suspended the embargo without addressing the merits of his claim. The farmer argued that the previous decision contained “contradictions, omissions and a lack of clarity on several points”.

In September, a court once again lifted the suspension of the embargo, granting an appeal by Ibama. On 7 October, another court rejected Curioni’s challenge and reinstated the December 2025 judgment, which had upheld the legality of the environmental embargo imposed by the agency.

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