What the EU Deforestation Regulation requires of coffee from Peru’s central jungle

Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, the EUDR, bans the sale in the European Union of coffee, cocoa and five other commodities produced on deforested land. It has been postponed twice. The latest amendment, Regulation (EU) 2025/2650, set the dates that apply today.

When it applies

Most Peruvian coffee cooperatives and producer associations fall in the second row. That does not buy them six quiet months: their European buyers are usually medium or large, must comply from December 2026, and will ask for origin data sooner.

The three conditions

A lot can be placed on the EU market only if it meets all three:

1. Deforestation-free. It was not produced on land that was forest on 31 December 2020.
2. Legal. It was produced in line with the laws of the country of production, including land tenure and third-party rights.
3. Declared. It is covered by a due diligence statement filed in the EU information system.

The second condition gets less attention than the first and is just as binding. A plot with no deforestation can still fail if it lies inside a protected area or its producer cannot prove tenure.

The 4-hectare threshold

Every plot must be geolocated, with coordinates to at least six decimal places. The form depends on size:

• Under 4 hectares: a single latitude and longitude point is enough.
• 4 hectares or more: a full perimeter polygon is required.

This matters in Peru’s central jungle. Many coffee plots in Chanchamayo and Satipo exceed 4 hectares, and a GPS point taken from the farmer’s house will not do. Someone has to walk the boundary.

What buyers can do now

• Ask suppliers for the declared area of each plot, to know how many need a polygon.
• Ask how tenure is documented for each producer: title, certificate of possession or other.
• Support polygon capture during field visits suppliers already make, rather than a separate campaign.
• Check each polygon against 2020 forest cover before it reaches your due diligence statement, not after.