AGRIBUSINESSMAN Oscar Luiz Cervi, cited by inspectors from Brazil’s Ministry of Labor in June for subjecting 35 people to conditions analogous to slavery in the cotton fields of Fazenda Reata, in Campo Novo do Parecis, Mato Grosso, is a longtime supplier to US multinational Bunge.
Under Brazilian law, “conditions analogous to slavery” is a legal classification covering forced labor, exhausting working hours, degrading working or living conditions, and debt bondage or other restrictions on workers’ freedom of movement.
In a corporate video released by the company in March this year, Cervi says he has supplied Bunge for 42 years, selling the company 100% of his grain output. He also says he planned to sell his entire cotton crop to Bunge through Viterra, a Canadian multinational acquired by the company in July 2025.
Viterra is one of the world’s largest cotton exporters. Its customers include factories in Asia that are part of the supply chains of major fashion brands such as Gap, Adidas, Levi Strauss & Co., which owns Levi’s, and Lacoste, according to customs data analyzed by Repórter Brasil and supplier lists published by the brands themselves.
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The slave labor case at Fazenda Reata was uncovered on June 8. According to information released by the Minister of Labor and reported by the Brazilian press, the rescued group was manually removing weeds from the farm’s cotton fields.
Inspectors said the workers were housed in overcrowded containers located inside an area enclosed by metal fencing and barbed wire and kept under constant surveillance.
Workers were housed in shipping containers approximately 2.40 meters wide by 6 meters long, which accommodated nine people, constituting overcrowding, according to the labor inspection (Photo: Mato Grosso Regional Labor Superintendency)
Repórter Brasil contacted Cervi’s legal representatives for comment.
“We