"Concern among Indigenous leaders, relief for a few, as Amazon Soy Moratorium falters", 3 March 2026

• Mongabay spoke with various stakeholders across Brazil’s political spectrum on what the possible unraveling of the Amazon Soy Moratorium, a key zero-deforestation agreement, may mean for Indigenous peoples and their lands.
• Most Indigenous leaders say a weakening or end to the moratorium will increase deforestation, pollution and invasions of their lands — as satellite imagery points to advancing forest loss near one territory — while a few leaders see this as an economic opportunity that will allow them to sell soy farmed on their lands without any penalties.
• As cracks form in the 20-year-old moratorium, the environment ministry says existing deforestation policies still stand and that given potential impacts on Indigenous lands, environmental enforcement and control mechanisms remain active and strengthened.
• The government of the state of Mato Grosso says the moratorium created an unfair legal framework, while soy industry association Abiove said Brazil can still maintain high socioenvironmental standards without it. Both did not address whether there are potential impacts on Indigenous lands.

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Earlier this year, the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (Abiove), which represents 18 companies including commodities giants such as Bunge, Cargill, Cofco and Amaggi, announced its withdrawal from the pact. Abiove, along with another signatory, the National Association of Cereal Exporters (Anec), “account for approximately 90% of the soybean market in the Amazon,” according to a report by the agreement’s monitoring group. Anec has not yet announced its departure from the agreement, but 13 of its 24 members are also part of Abiove.

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In a statement to Mongabay, Abiove said the moratorium consolidated Brazil as a global reference for sustainable production. But the industry association didn’t provide an official response to a question about potential impacts on Indigenous lands.

Abiove also said it trusts the existing legislation and guidelines will ensure that Brazilian soy maintains its high socioenvironmental standards.

“The legacy of monitoring and the expertise acquired over almost 20 years will not be lost,” an Abiove spokesperson said. “There will be individual attention given to the rigorous demands of global markets, with equal confidence in the Brazilian authorities for the full implementation of a new regulatory framework.”

Mongabay contacted Cargill, the Brazilian president’s office, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples and the federal Indigenous affairs agency (Funai) for comment, but none had responded by the time this story was published.