For an agricultural exporter, knowing where your products come from has always mattered. But increasingly, being able to prove where those products came from matters just as much.
This is one of the major changes being introduced through the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
The EUDR is changing how certain commodities and products entering the European Union market must be documented, traced and assessed. For businesses involved in commodities such as coffee, cocoa, palm oil, rubber, soy, wood and cattle, the ability to provide reliable information about product origin and supply chains is becoming increasingly important.
For African exporters and cooperatives supplying international markets, this raises an important question:
Can you prove where your products came from?
This article explains what the EUDR is, what it requires, what it means for African agricultural supply chains and why traceability and reliable source data are becoming increasingly important.
What is the EU Deforestation Regulation?
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, introduced by the European Union to reduce the contribution of EU consumption to global deforestation and forest degradation.
The regulation applies to certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation. The commodities covered include:
- Cattle
- Cocoa
- Coffee
- Palm oil
- Rubber
- Soy
- Wood
It also applies to certain products derived from these commodities.
The basic principle is straightforward:
Products covered by the regulation must meet specific requirements before they can be placed on the EU market (and, where the rules apply, before they are exported from the EU).
Under the regulation, relevant products must be:
- Deforestation-free
- Produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of production
- Covered by a due diligence statement submitted by the operator who first places the product on the EU market
This is where traceability becomes critical.
Who must do what
The legal duty to carry out due diligence and to submit a due diligence statement sits with the operator who first places the product on the EU market, usually the EU importer. African exporters and cooperatives are typically asked to supply the origin, plot and chain information that operator needs. They are not automatically the party who files in the EU system.
Why was the EUDR introduced?
Agricultural expansion is one of the major drivers of deforestation globally. The EU has therefore introduced the EUDR as part of its efforts to reduce the environmental impact associated with products consumed in the European market.
The regulation is intended to help ensure that commodities entering the EU do not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation. It also aims to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and biodiversity loss associated with deforestation.
But the regulation doesn’t simply ask businesses to say “our coffee is sustainably sourced.” It requires information and evidence that can support that claim.
And that is an important distinction.
What does the EUDR actually require?
One of the most important things to understand about EUDR is that traceability is not simply about knowing your supplier. The regulation requires operators to collect specific information and conduct due diligence before placing relevant products on the EU market.
1. Information about the product
Businesses need information that identifies the relevant commodity or product. This can include:
- Product description
- Trade name
- Quantity
- Relevant product codes
- Country of production
The required information forms part of the documentation supporting the due diligence process.
2. Information about where the product was produced
This is where geolocation becomes particularly important. The EUDR requires the geolocation of the plots of land where relevant commodities were produced.
For products involving cattle, the requirements can relate to the establishments where the cattle were kept.
This means that a supply-chain record saying “Coffee - Kenya” may not provide enough information by itself. The organisation may need to be able to connect the relevant product to the locations where the commodity was actually produced.
In practice, that usually means:
- Every plot that produced the commodity in that consignment, not a single centroid for the whole cooperative
- A point is allowed for plots of 4 hectares or less; a polygon (the plot outline) is required for plots larger than 4 hectares
- Coordinates in a form the EU information system can ingest
Operators submit that information through the EU’s due diligence system. Suppliers need to be able to produce the plot data.
3. Evidence That the Product Is Deforestation-Free
Businesses need sufficiently conclusive and verifiable information demonstrating that relevant products are deforestation-free.
The regulation uses 31 December 2020 as the relevant cut-off date for deforestation and forest degradation requirements.
This makes historical and location-based information important.
The information needs to connect the product to the place where it was produced, and to show that production is consistent with that cut-off date.
Risk assessment of plots or sources can generate evidence the operator may use in a due diligence statement.
What is EUDR due diligence?
EUDR due diligence involves more than collecting documents. For the operator, the process involves three key elements:
- Information collection. The organisation collects the required information, data and documents.
- Risk assessment. The organisation assesses whether there is a risk that the products do not meet the regulation’s requirements.
- Risk mitigation. Where a non-negligible risk is identified, appropriate measures need to be taken to reduce that risk before the relevant product can be placed on the market.
The due diligence process
Collect → Assess → Mitigate → Document → Declare
That is the operator’s process. African exporters and cooperatives typically sit in Collect and Document: they are asked to provide origin, plot and chain evidence the operator can use. They are not, by default, the party who Declares in the EU system, unless they themselves are the operator.
And that process needs reliable information behind it.
Why traceability matters under EUDR
Imagine an exporter receiving coffee from hundreds or thousands of producers. The exporter may already have:
- Supplier records
- Purchase records
- Delivery notes
- Warehouse records
- Batch information
- Spreadsheets
- GPS information
- Certificates
- Invoices
The problem is that these pieces of information may exist in different places and systems. The organisation may technically have the information. But when a buyer asks “can you prove where this batch came from?”, the challenge becomes connecting the information, including every contributing plot, not one factory pin.
That is the difference between having data and having usable, connected evidence.
What does EUDR mean for African exporters?
The EUDR is an EU regulation, but its effects extend beyond the European Union. African agricultural exporters supplying relevant commodities into international supply chains may increasingly be asked by European buyers and other supply-chain partners for information that supports EUDR due diligence.
This does not mean that every exporter outside the EU has exactly the same legal obligations as an EU operator. However, exporters and suppliers can become an important part of the information chain required by businesses placing products on the EU market.
Can your organisation provide the information your international buyers need?
What does EUDR mean for agricultural cooperatives?
Cooperatives can play a particularly important role in traceability because they may sit between individual producers and exporters or buyers. A cooperative may work with hundreds of farmers, multiple collection centres, different production locations, different batches, multiple buyers, and processors and exporters.
This creates a significant amount of information. A cooperative may therefore need systems and processes that help it maintain reliable records about:
Producer → Location → Product → Batch → Collection → Processing → Buyer
When a consignment is made up of coffee from many farms, the record for that lot needs to list every contributing plot, not a single location for the cooperative. The stronger these connections are, the easier it can become to respond when buyers request evidence about product origin.
The challenge of fragmented supply-chain data
One of the biggest challenges facing agricultural organisations isn’t necessarily the absence of information. It is fragmentation. Information may be stored across spreadsheets, paper records, mobile devices, separate databases, emails, accounting systems, warehouse records and supplier records.
When these systems don’t communicate with each other, answering a simple question can become surprisingly difficult.
- Where did this product come from?
- Which producers contributed to this batch?
- Where was it produced?
- When was it collected?
- Which buyer received it?
- Can we verify the information?
These are not merely technology questions. They are trust and market-access questions.
When does the EUDR apply?
The EUDR entered into force in 2023, but its application has been postponed and amended. Under the current implementation timeline, the regulation is scheduled to apply from:
- 30 December 2026: for large and medium-sized operators.
- 30 June 2027: for micro and small operators, with specific provisions for certain businesses previously covered by the EU Timber Regulation.
Some micro and small operators may, in defined cases, use a simplified declaration. That route is narrow. Most export lots into the EU still sit behind a full operator due diligence statement.
The European Commission has also continued updating implementation tools, guidance and the product scope as businesses prepare for application. Because EUDR implementation continues to evolve, organisations should rely on the latest official EU guidance when determining their specific legal obligations. Deadlines depend on operator size and later EU updates. This page is not legal advice.
What should African exporters be doing now?
Waiting until the regulation becomes applicable may leave organisations trying to organise years of supply-chain information under pressure. A more practical approach is to start by asking:
- Do we know where our products come from? Can the organisation connect products to their actual production plots, not only to a supplier or a factory?
- Can we trace products through the supply chain? Can information be connected from source through collection, processing and shipment?
- Where is our information stored? Is information centralised, or spread across multiple systems?
- Can we connect records to individual batches? If a buyer asks about a particular shipment, can the organisation identify the relevant source information, including every contributing plot?
- Can we produce evidence quickly? It is one thing to have information somewhere. It is another to retrieve it when a buyer, auditor or competent authority needs it.
- What information are our international buyers already asking for? This can reveal where the organisation’s current traceability gaps are.
From knowing your source to proving your source
This is where the conversation around traceability is changing. Traditionally, organisations may have focused on collecting information. Increasingly, the value lies in being able to connect, verify and communicate that information.
A buyer doesn’t simply want to hear “this coffee came from our farmers.” They may want confidence in where it came from, who produced it, where it was produced, how it moved through the supply chain, and what evidence supports that information.
That is the difference between traceability as record-keeping and traceability as verifiable provenance.
Where Origin Secure Fits
This is the problem Origin Secure by Ivrify Data is designed to help organisations address.
Origin Secure provides a way to capture where a product came from, connect that information as it moves through the supply chain, and produce it when a buyer asks.
That can include:
- Plot-level origin and geolocation
- How product moved from collection through processing
- Batch records that can be tied back to source
- QR verification when someone needs to see the record
The goal is simple:
Make product origin easier to capture, connect, manage and verify.
Origin Secure does not replace an organisation’s legal responsibility to conduct EUDR due diligence, and using a traceability platform does not automatically make a product EUDR-compliant.
It does not submit due diligence statements to the EU. It can help organise plot, batch and evidence so the operator who does file is not working from disconnected files.
Why this matters beyond EUDR
EUDR may be the immediate reason many organisations are paying attention to traceability. But the underlying need is bigger. International buyers increasingly want confidence in:
- Where products originate
- How they were produced
- How they move through supply chains
- Whether information can be verified
- Whether suppliers can provide reliable evidence
That means traceability can become more than a regulatory requirement. It can become a competitive advantage. An exporter that can confidently answer questions about product origin may be in a stronger position than one that has to spend weeks searching through disconnected records.
The future of African agricultural trade is verifiable
Africa already produces commodities that are deeply connected to global markets. The challenge is not simply producing more. It is increasingly about being able to demonstrate the story behind what is produced.
- Where did it come from?
- Who produced it?
- Where was it grown?
- How did it move?
- Can the information be verified?
As requirements around traceability and supply-chain transparency evolve, organisations that begin building stronger systems for managing this information now may be better positioned for the future.
Is your organisation ready to prove product origin?
EUDR is bringing greater attention to a question that agricultural exporters and cooperatives will increasingly need to answer:
Can you prove where your product came from?
If your organisation currently relies on fragmented records, manual processes or disconnected systems, now is a good time to assess your traceability readiness. Origin Secure by Ivrify Data is designed to help organisations capture, connect and verify product provenance across the supply chain.