0What is happening
Europe stops buying what came from deforested land
The European Union passed a law, known as the EUDR, which bans from the European market seven commodities linked to deforestation. Soy is one of them, together with soybean meal and oil. In practice: to sell to Europe, you have to prove which plot the product came from, that the plot was not deforested after 31 December 2020 and that production complied with Brazilian law.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 31/12/2020 | The cut-off date. Land deforested after that date is not eligible for the European market, even if the deforestation was legal. |
| 30/12/2026 | The rule starts to apply to large and medium-sized companies. |
| 30/06/2027 | It starts to apply to micro and small companies established up to 31/12/2024. |
1Does this apply to you?
It depends on where you sit in the chain
| Who you are | What it means |
|---|---|
| Farmer selling to a grain handler, cooperative or trader in Brazil | European law creates no direct legal obligation for you. But your buyer will need the polygon of your plot and your documents, and that is already going into contracts. Without this data, your soy tends to be worth less or not to be bought at all. |
| Grain handler, cooperative or warehouse | You are the link that gathers the information. You need to know which plot each lot came from and to keep soy separable from other crops in your records and in storage. |
| Exporter | Your European clients will ask for the full package per shipment: geolocation, assessment reports and a legality declaration. |
| Company importing on its own account, with a subsidiary or stock in the EU | In that case your company may be the legally responsible operator in Europe, with all the obligations and penalties. |
2What cannot be fixed later
What has to be right before the sale
- The plot's history. Deforestation after 31/12/2020 either happened or it did not. There is no way to correct it later, and no offsetting with another area.
- The polygon of each plot. For plots above 4 hectares you need the outline of the area, with coordinates of at least six decimal places. Collecting that at the last minute, for hundreds of suppliers, does not work.
- Separation in the warehouse. If soy is mixed with grain of unknown origin, the whole lot is compromised. This is season planning, not a last-minute adjustment.
- Legality documents. Active CAR registration, Legal Reserve, no embargoes and no forced labour findings: each pending item takes months to resolve.
- A record of what was done. Evidence has to be kept and organised so it can be shown to an auditor or a client.
3What to do now
A 90-day path, from the most urgent to the structural
In the first 30 days
- Find out whether your company sells, directly or indirectly, to the European Union, and under which products (codes 1201, 1208 10, 1507 and 2304).
- Ask your European client, in writing, what they will require and in what format.
- Decide who owns the subject inside the company. With no owner, it does not move.
- Map how many suppliers and how many plots feed your sourcing, and how many already have a polygon.
Within 60 days
- Close the list of suppliers with geolocated plots and identify the ones missing.
- Run the post-2020 deforestation and legality analysis on the plots, and set aside the problem cases.
- Check whether your system can link the lot sold to the plots it came from.
- Review purchase contracts: include the obligation to provide geolocation and documents.
Within 90 days
- Define how soy will be segregated at intake, in the warehouse and at shipment.
- Build the standard package per lot: geolocation file, assessment reports, legality declaration and supplier data.
- Train the sourcing, warehouse and commercial teams.
- Test the process on a real shipment, from farm to port, and fix what fails.
4Frequently asked questions
The most common questions, answered straight
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| “Can the deadline be postponed again?” | It has been postponed twice, and it could happen again. But no postponement changed the 2020 cut-off date or the geolocation requirement. Plan as if there were no postponement. |
| “My client asked for the polygon. What is that?” | It is the outline of the production plot, with precise coordinates. A single point is only acceptable for plots of up to 4 hectares. |
| “I cleared land with a permit. Does that solve it?” | No. For the EUDR, legal deforestation is still deforestation. What counts is the date: after 31/12/2020, the plot is not eligible. |
| “I grow soy and corn on the same farm. Is that a problem?” | Only soy is regulated. The problem appears if the two are mixed without records. They have to be separable in control and in storage. |
| “Does a certification solve everything?” | No. No certification replaces the declaration the European importer has to submit. It helps to organise and to evidence, and it is used in risk assessment. |
| “What if I do nothing?” | Europe will not fine you, but you lose buyers. Those with the data sell; those without it compete in other markets, usually at a lower price. |
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