Major victory! IDB Invest cancel loan to agribusiness giant Marfrig

SAO PAOLO – International reporting has confirmed rumours that IDB Invest, the private investment arm of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, had cancelled its plans to support global giant Marfrig with a $200 million loan.

Reporting on Reuters recognises that “failed proposal highlights an uphill battle for Brazil’s beef industry, the world’s No. 1 exporter, to overcome concerns that it is contributing to deforestation of the Amazon rainforest through its opaque and poorly regulated network of suppliers”.

This is a significant victory for the Stop Financing Factory Farming campaign and allies. The campaign first coordinated a public letter  of complaint against the loan in September 2021, signed by more than 200 civil society organisations and sent to IDB Invest’s board of directors. The loan was delayed in November 2021 as a result of our pressure.

The letter cited potential bank policy violations associated with the loan such as illegal deforestation and Indigenous land rights violations. It also opposed the proposed loan because of Marfrig’s history of corruption and greenwashing, claiming sustainably sourced cattle that turned out to be linked to illegal deforestation and land grabbing.  

Public development finance should not be channeled to large-scale industrial livestock operations like Marfrig that fuel deforestation and the climate crisis.

Today, we celebrate the full victory of the loan being cancelled once and for all.