- The EUDR delay offers an extra year to meet deforestation-free standards, but the road to compliance remains steep
- EU coffee imports hit €21.9 billion in 2022, underscoring that compliance is non-negotiable
- Looking to cocoa and palm oil offers the coffee industry a roadmap for smarter EUDR preparation
THE European Union’s recent decision to delay the enforcement of its landmark European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) has set the record straight on whether plans will go ahead or be scratched.
Originally scheduled to take effect in late 2024, the EUDR will now apply from December 30, 2025, for large companies and from June 30, 2026, for small and micro-enterprises.
The extension reflects an acknowledgment of the logistical and operational challenges faced by industries as they adapt to one of the world’s most ambitious environmental trade regulations.
Brazil and Indonesia labelled the law as protectionist, warning it could shut millions of poor, small-scale farmers out of the EU market. Meanwhile, the U.S. criticised the EU for delaying the launch of a compliance system for producers to submit their documentation.
The EUDR prohibits the sale of commodities linked to deforestation, including coffee, cocoa, soy, and palm oil, unless they can be certified as deforestation-free. This involves strict due diligence measures, such as tracing supply chains with geolocation data.
The International Trade Centre has produced a series of handbooks explaining how the EUDR affects small businesses to help demystify core concepts, obligations, scope, and implementation processes associated with the regulation.
By granting an extra year, the EU is signalling its intent to preserve the regulation’s integrity rather than dilute its requirements to expedite implementation.
For the coffee industry, this delay provides crucial breathing room, but it also highlights the steep road ahead. Coffee producers, exporters, and roasters now have a choice: invest in the systems required to comply or risk losing access to the EU market, whose coffee imports saw the highest value increase for a single commodity (€4.6 billion) in 2022.
The European Commission reports that coffee, tea, cocoa, and spices (€21.9 billion, up €5.0 billion) remain the third largest agri-food category imported into the EU in 2022.
The fine print of the postponement has significant implications. While large corporations have the resources to scale compliance measures swiftly, smallholder farmers – who produce the majority of the world’s coffee – face daunting barriers.
Many operate in regions where mapping technology and infrastructure are scarce, and the cost of implementing traceability systems threatens to squeeze margins already under pressure from rising input costs and climate-related challenges.
The EU’s additional time is not merely a reprieve but a challenge to an industry grappling with how to align its fragmented global supply chains to meet the standards.
“I think for larger companies this will be a double edged sword,” says Stuart Ritson, Director of Sales for Europe and the UK at Osito Coffee.
“On one front they’ve prepared more and better than anyone else for EUDR and could have scored a real competitive advantage. However, they’re likely also relieved to have more time. I think that’s the general perspective across the industry. Nonetheless, we need to make moves and capitalise on the extra time and not be lazy in continuing the process of acquiring data and preparing for the implementation.”
Learning from other crops
The coffee industry might do well to look beyond its borders for inspiration.
Cocoa, long a focus of sustainability efforts, has arguably been more proactive in preparing for the EUDR. In West Africa, home to 70% of the world’s cocoa production, companies and governments have partnered to develop national traceability systems.
Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, for instance, are piloting programmes using satellite monitoring and geolocation tools to track deforestation risks. These systems allow exporters to demonstrate compliance while empowering farmers with the data needed to secure EU market access.
The Sustainable Cocoa Initiative, launched in 2020, supplements the EU Deforestation Regulation by sharing its objective of tackling deforestation and by addressing technical issues for instance linked to traceability.
Palm oil, another commodity under scrutiny, has also taken strides toward compliance. While its reputation has long been tarnished by deforestation and habitat destruction, the industry has responded with certifications like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and blockchain-based traceability systems.
Indonesian producers, for example, have embraced satellite data and artificial intelligence to verify land-use patterns, an approach that coffee exporters in deforestation-prone regions like Brazil and Colombia could emulate.
Yet coffee’s complexity poses unique challenges. Unlike palm oil plantations or cocoa farms, coffee production is often decentralised, involving millions of smallholder farmers across disparate geographies.
This fragmentation makes it harder to implement standardised systems, but the cocoa sector’s progress suggests that collaboration between governments, private companies, and NGOs could be a viable model.
The lesson from other commodities is clear: the extra time is only valuable if the coffee sector uses it to build resilient and transparent supply chains.
Best practices in coffee: From Vietnam to collaboration
While some sectors lead the charge, the coffee industry is not without its success stories.
Vietnam, the world’s second-largest coffee producer, has emerged as a model of proactive adaptation. In a pioneering effort, the country has partnered with IDH (The Sustainable Trade Initiative) and JDE Peet’s, the global coffee giant, to develop a comprehensive deforestation risk database.
This system maps coffee farms across Vietnam, identifying areas at risk and creating a framework for compliance with the EUDR. By involving both public institutions and private corporations, the initiative ensures that smallholders are not left behind.
The Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé) is leading an initiative to develop a georeferencing technology capable of pinpointing locations with up to 50 centimeters of accuracy, providing robust proof of origin for Brazilian coffee.
In Ethiopia, some Bench Maji Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union has adopted enterprise resource planning software. Working with the International Trade Centre, over 21,350 farmers have gained tools to improve efficiency, traceability, and compliance with global standards.
These projects aim to balance the twin imperatives of environmental protection and economic survival for small-scale producers. However, such efforts remain fragmented, and scaling them to encompass the entire industry will require significant investment.
“I think when government agencies and private companies work together a lot can be achieved,” says Stuart. “Brazil has done a great job in preparing Minas Gerais and other areas with full mapping. This kind of work is very helpful to producers and likely keeps these countries at a competitive advantage over other producing countries.
In order for schemes like this to succeed, it does truly require significant investment, not only of funds but also labour, and this is not always forthcoming in less developed countries or places where the coffee industry makes up a much smaller part of the exports of that country.”
Not all actors are approaching the delay with the same urgency. Many companies remain in a reactive posture, betting that further delays or exemptions might ease their burden – which could prove risky. The EU has shown little appetite for relaxing the EUDR’s core provisions, and firms that fail to prepare will likely face harsh penalties or exclusion from the lucrative EU market.
Moreover, the reputational cost of non-compliance could be severe, particularly as consumers increasingly demand transparency in their purchasing decisions. Studies show that 56% of EU consumers consider the sustainability impacts of goods and services they buy – and two-thirds of these consumers report purchasing sustainable products, even at a higher cost.
The extra year also brings a paradox: While it offers time to adapt, it reduces the sense of immediacy. Companies that use this period to build robust systems, foster collaborations, and support their supply chains will likely emerge stronger, while those that procrastinate risk being caught unprepared.
The Vietnam-IDH-JDE partnership has been cited as a template for how to use the delay wisely, but scaling such efforts globally will require coordinated action across the public and private sectors, and clear incentives for producers to align with compliance measures.
The EUDR represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the coffee industry. The delay in enforcement reflects the EU’s recognition of the complexities involved in transforming global supply chains, but it does not diminish the urgency of the task. As the coffee sector navigates this transition, the question is not whether compliance is achievable but how the industry can balance environmental commitments with economic realities.
The coffee industry has long positioned itself as a champion of environmental and social responsibility. The EUDR delay offers a rare chance to prove it. Whether it seizes the moment or lets it slip away will define its future in an increasingly regulated and conscientious market.
Coffee Intelligence
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