Question 1

What is the EUDR and when does it take effect?

Accepted Answer

The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR, Regulation 2023/1115) requires that certain commodities and derived products placed on or exported from the EU market are deforestation-free, legally produced, and covered by a due diligence statement. Large operators must comply by December 30, 2025, with full enforcement for all operators by December 30, 2026.

Question 2

Which commodities are covered by the EUDR?

Accepted Answer

The EUDR covers seven commodity groups: cocoa, coffee, soy, palm oil, rubber, cattle (including leather), and wood (including timber and paper products). It also covers a wide range of derived products — for example, chocolate, furniture, tires, and printed paper.

Question 3

Who needs to comply with the EUDR?

Accepted Answer

Any operator or trader placing covered commodities on the EU market — or exporting them from the EU — must comply. This includes EU-based importers, distributors, and retailers, as well as non-EU exporters whose products enter the EU market. The regulation applies regardless of where the commodities were produced.

Question 4

What geolocation data is required under the EUDR?

Accepted Answer

Operators must provide the geolocation coordinates of all plots of land where the commodity was produced. For plots larger than 4 hectares, polygon boundary coordinates are required (not just a single GPS point). This data must be included in the due diligence statement submitted to the EU Information System.

Question 5

How does OriginTrace help with EUDR compliance?

Accepted Answer

OriginTrace provides end-to-end infrastructure for EUDR compliance: GPS polygon farm mapping, full supply chain traceability from farm to export, automated due diligence statement generation, compliance scoring, risk assessment, and an audit-ready data vault. The platform is designed for real-world conditions in producing countries — working offline, on any smartphone, and in low-connectivity environments.

Question 6

What happens if an operator fails to comply with the EUDR?

Accepted Answer

Non-compliance can result in fines of up to 4% of the operator's annual EU-wide turnover, confiscation of products, exclusion from public procurement, and a temporary ban on placing products on the EU market. Competent authorities in each EU member state are responsible for enforcement and inspections.

Question 7

Does the EUDR apply to smallholder farmers?

Accepted Answer

The EUDR applies to operators and traders, not directly to smallholder farmers. However, smallholders are significantly affected because operators must trace commodities back to the farm level and verify deforestation-free status. OriginTrace is specifically designed to make this farm-level data collection practical — even in remote, low-infrastructure regions.

Question 8

How is the December 31, 2020 cut-off date applied?

Accepted Answer

The EUDR uses December 31, 2020 as the deforestation cut-off date. Any land that was forested before this date and subsequently cleared is considered non-compliant. Satellite imagery and geospatial analysis are used to verify that production land was not subject to deforestation after this date.

EUDR compliance starts at the farm, not the border.

Three types of operator with EUDR obligations.

EU Importers

Non-EU Exporters

SME Traders

Built for every step of EUDR compliance.

From source to payment — every step connected

GPS Plot Registration

Farmer Identity Verification

Offline Field Collection

Deforestation Risk Scoring

DDS-Ready Documentation

The EUDR compliance timeline.

Seven commodity groups under EUDR.

Clearing doubts about our traceability platform

Don't wait until your buyer asks for a DDS you can't produce.