After two postponements, the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) starts to apply on 30 December 2026. Coffee has been in scope from the start, but the rules changed at the end of last year, and many roasters are still working from the old version. Here is where things stand, based on the European Commission’s own documents.

No third delay on the table

In May, the Commission published its simplification review of the regulation. Its conclusion was clear: to keep the framework stable and predictable, it “does not consider it appropriate to propose further amendments to the basic legal text.” The Commission’s own EUDR page still lists the same dates today. For planning purposes, 30 December is the date that counts.

Two delays and a simplification

The regulation has been in force since June 2023. Regulation (EU) 2024/3234 pushed its application back by one year, and Regulation (EU) 2025/2650, published in December 2025, added a second year. That second amendment also simplified the law. Large and medium operators must comply from 30 December 2026. Micro and small operators have until 30 June 2027. Downstream operators and traders, whatever their size, follow from 30 December 2026.

Who does what in the chain

The biggest change is who files what. The due diligence statement now sits with the operator that first places the coffee on the EU market. For green coffee, that is usually the importer. The statement rests on the geolocation of the plots where the coffee was grown, evidence that the land was not deforested after 31 December 2020, and a check that the coffee was produced in line with the laws of the producing country.

A roaster who buys green coffee and sells it roasted is a downstream operator. Downstream operators and traders no longer submit their own statements. Instead, they keep the details of who supplied them and who they supplied, for five years, and keep the reference number of the statement that came with the coffee. The Commission’s review describes this role as limited to passive collection and retention of information. Downstream operators and traders that are larger than an SME must also register in the EU information system.

Colombia: standard risk

The EU sorts producing countries by deforestation risk. Colombia, like Brazil and Peru, sits in the standard risk category, not on the low risk list. For importers of Colombian coffee, that means full due diligence, including a risk assessment, rather than the simplified route open to coffee from low risk countries.

Samples and soluble coffee

Two updates from September matter to the coffee trade. A Commission delegated act, in force since 18 September 2026, adds targeted exemptions, including samples and products used for analysis, examination and testing. The same act brings soluble coffee into scope, but only from 30 December 2027.

What it means for your coffee

For most roasters, the work is administrative rather than operational. Ask your importers how they will pass on the statement reference with each delivery. Make sure your purchase and sales records clearly name suppliers and customers. And check whether your company size means you need to register.

The heavier lifting happens at the start of the chain. Plot data begins with the producer, long before a bag reaches a warehouse in Europe. That is where traceability is won or lost.

We work from Pereira, close to the producers behind our lots. If you are working out what EUDR means for your green coffee buying, we are happy to talk it through.

Reported by Joram Bennekers
Founder & Trader, Origin Bridge | Pereira, Colombia

This article is general information, not legal advice.