The European Union Deforestation Regulation was initially meant to be implemented in late 2024 directly impacting the coffee industry. Why, more than a full year later, are further delays still on the cards?
In November 2021, the European Union (EU) Commission proposed a landmark sustainability and deforestation regulatory document with the intention to change several key commodity markets for the better – the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
Coffee, among the likes of cocoa, palm oil, beef, rubber, soy, and other products were all to come under remit of these new regulations. As a result, companies wanting to export or sell these products in the EU face mandatory due diligence obligations.
Included were requirements to trace these products back to the plot of land they were produced and provide evidence that said land was not subject to deforestation after 2020, and complied with all applicable laws.
Originally, the EUDR was slated to come into effect at the end of 2024, but it was delayed 12 months at the request of the Commission to give companies more time to prepare for compliance obligations.
At the time of writing, it is looking entirely likely further delays are looming.
This news has been met with mixed responses from the coffee industry and wider sustainability sector.
Policy Manager for Forests at WWF European Policy Office Anke Schulmeiser-Oldenhove made her stance clear, labelling the continued delays as “a complete withdrawal from responsibility towards future generations” and that “all hell will break loose with more simplification” of the regulations.
Back in October 2025 multinational food and drink conglomerate Nestlé joined forces with confectionary companies including Mars Wrigley and Ferrero, conservation bodies including the Rainforest Alliance and Precious Woods, and a host of other businesses and not-for-profits, to present a letter to the EU Commission calling on the prevention of further delays to the EUDR.
“The company signatories in this letter, together with their value chain partners – including smallholder farmers – have been actively preparing and investing in compliance with the current provisions of the EUDR, which we have consistently supported. These efforts have been made in good faith that the European legislative framework and timeline were reliable,” the letter reads.
“The proposed delay puts at risk the preservation of forests worldwide, will accelerate climate change impacts, and undermines trust in Europe’s regulatory commitments.”
Conversely, Lavazza Group Chairman Giuseppe Lavazza called for additional delays in July 2025, stating to reporters its implementation would only add further strain to an industry already beset by global geopolitical issues, and origin countries like Ethiopia would struggle to comply due to clarity issues around land ownership.
What is the EUDR?
Deforestation is considered one of the driving factors of the world’s current climate and biodiversity crisis. The EUDR, while a European legislation, looms as having a truly global impact on the coffee industry and its supply chains.
The EUDR’s objective is to ensure the listed products Europeans buy, use, and consume do not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation, while addressing all deforestation driven by agricultural expansion to produce these commodities.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines a forest as “land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees taller than five metres and a canopy cover of more than 10 per cent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ”.
It is hoped, once implemented, it will reduce carbon emissions by a total of 32 million metric tonnes per year and the 10 per cent of global deforestation fuelled by EU consumption.
The inclusion of forest degradation in the EUDR is significant. While deforestation covers the conversion of forests to other land use, the definition of forest degradation is murkier as countries have the power to implement their own definitions.
FAO defined it – up until 2015 – as forest ecosystems that have lost their capacity to provide goods and services to nature and people, whether it’s through losses like wildlife habitat, watershed protection, or illegal hunting removing wildlife.
How is coffee involved?
Coffee is one of several agricultural products included under the EUDR regulations. With the world losing an estimated 18 soccer fields of tropical primary forest every minute – much of which is due to the clearing of land for commercial agricultural use – the EU has elected to pursue the EUDR as a force against the ongoing destruction of forests.
The role of coffee in this deforestation is far from insignificant, and its listing as a regulated commodity alongside industries like cocoa and chocolate, cattle and beef, soy and animal feeds, and others means every step from farm to European retail shelf will be beholden to the laws once they come into effect.
Starting with green coffee exporters and roasters, through to traders and logistics companies, and brands and retailers selling products, industry figures say its implementation will irreparably alter each link in the coffee supply chain.
The EU is the world’s largest coffee consumer, with countries within the bloc consuming between 30 and 32 per cent of global demand, which translates to about 53.7 million 60-kilogram bags per year at an average of about 147,000 per day, according to market research organisation Coffee Business Intelligence (CBI).
For comparison, the entire Asia-Pacific region accounts for 25.8 per cent of global demand, with North America (17.5 per cent) and South America (15.8 per cent) significantly behind the EU.
The EU’s extensive demand for coffee and related products arms it with the potential to meaningfully combat deforestation and forest degradation globally, from South America to southeast Asia and everywhere in between.
The coffee industry’s history of deforestation is perhaps most evident in Brazil, where almost the entirety of the Atlantic Forest has been cleared for agriculture. Coffee was the first product the land was cleared for, according to Coffee Watch. Once home to five per cent of the world’s biodiversity and spanning one million square kilometres, more than 90 per cent of its cover since the 1500s has been removed.
FAO estimates 420 million hectares of forest were lost to deforestation between 1990 and 2020. The EU itself, by comparison, spans approximately 423 million hectares.
What has caused the delays?
The EUDR officially entered into force on 29 June 2023, with a view of being implemented at the end of 2024 after an 18-month phase-in. However it was delayed to the end of 2025 in November 2024 to allow companies more time to align their operations with upcoming requirements while the work on deforestation commitments continued.
The postponement was agreed upon by the European Parliament with 371 votes to 240 with 30 abstentions.
This first round of delays was eventually confirmed to extend to 30 December 2025 for large EU companies and from 30 June 2026 for micro- and small EU companies, with cattle, coffee, cocoa, palm oil, and soya products all defined as impacted.
“Several trading partners repeatedly expressed concerns that operators in their country were not sufficiently prepared to supply commodities or products covered by the EUDR in line with the new rules by 30 December 2024,” a report from AGRINFO states.
“The extra 12 months provides a phasing-in period to ensure the new rules are implemented effectively. This period will also allow the EU to engage with trading partners that have expressed concerns.”
On 26 November 2025, the European Parliament supported the proposal by the European Commission made in September citing concerns about the capacity of the information systems that would be used to ensure compliance with the EUDR.
A submission by Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall to Member of the European Parliament Antonio Decaro calling for the further postponement of the EUDR was sent on 23 September about the IT system.
“Over the last year, the commission has been deploying the IT system in close contact with stakeholders. In this context, new projections on the number of expected operations and interactions between economic operators and the IT system has led to a substantial upward re-assessment of the projected load on the IT system,” the letter reads.
“One issue is related to the way economic operators can choose to interact with the IT system to facilitate their operations. Another is related to the obligations placed on downstream operators by the EUDR, despite efforts over the last months to provide simplification to stakeholders. Further factors relate to the high volume of small packages that are imported into the EU, or the impact on the length of replies to operators of various internal checks by the commission or the Competent Authorities of the Member States related to submitted data.
“Based on the available information, the commission’s assessment is that this will very likely lead to the system slowing down to unacceptable levels or even to repeated and long-lasting disruptions, which would negatively impact companies and their possibilities to comply with the EUDR. Operators would be unable to register as economic operators, introduce their Due Diligence Statements, retrieve the necessary information from the IT system, or provide the necessary information for customs purposes where relevant. This would severely impact the achievement of the objectives of EUDR, but also potentially affect trade flows in the areas covered by the legislation.”
What’s next?
At the time of writing, full, express confirmation of the EUDR’s further delay is yet to be confirmed, but the European Parliament’s alignment with the European Commission on the potential delay means it is all but certain the EUDR will not be implemented until – at the earliest – December 2026.
Large- and medium-sized companies should now expect to comply by 30 December 2026, with SMEs and micro-enterprises having their timelines further extended to 30 June 2027.
The European Parliament voted in favour of these new delays, with the text adopted by 402 votes to 250 with eight abstentions.
This article was first published in the January/February 2026 edition of Global Coffee Report. Read more here.
