EU Deforestation Regulation · Palm oil

Palm oil enters the EU only with proof.

Reg. (EU) 2023/1115 · oil palm is a covered commodity · large and medium operators in scope from 30 Dec 2026 · land must be deforestation-free after 31 Dec 2020.

Oil palm is one of the seven EUDR commodities, and its derivatives — crude palm oil, palm kernel oil, and a long annex of downstream products — inherit the obligation. Every consignment placed on the EU market needs a due-diligence statement backed by geolocation coordinates for every plantation plot, proving no deforestation after 31 December 2020. For a commodity blended and refined across thousands of smallholder plots, segregating provenance is the entire problem.

Reg. (EU) 2023/1115Geolocation per plotDDS per consignmentCut-off 31 Dec 2020Derivatives in scope
What the rule requires

What every consignment must carry.

Plot-level geolocation

Coordinates for every plantation plot that grew the fruit — for plots over four hectares, polygons rather than points. Mill-level averages do not satisfy the regulation.

Due-diligence statement

A DDS filed in the EU information system before placing the product on the market, referencing the geolocation data and legality evidence for the producing plots.

Derivative traceability

Refined fractions, oleochemicals and blends inherit scope from their palm content — the DDS obligation follows the molecule through refining, not just the crude oil shipment.

Smallholder aggregation

Dealer networks aggregating thousands of smallholder plots must preserve plot identity through collection points and mills — the step where provenance traditionally dies.

The dates

The timeline, as it stands.

Large and medium operators come into scope on 30 December 2026; micro and small enterprises follow on 30 June 2027, under the postponement in Regulation (EU) 2025/2650. The land-use cut-off is fixed at 31 December 2020 regardless of operator size.

Cut-off date for land31 Dec 2020
Large/medium operators30 Dec 2026
Micro & small enterprises30 Jun 2027
What to do now

Three moves that de-risk the deadline.

01 · Step

Inventory your plot data

Map which volumes trace to polygon-verified plots today and which dissolve into mass-balance at the mill — that gap is your exposure.

02 · Step

Push identity to the collection point

Bind identity where fruit changes hands the first time. Everything downstream can be reconciled; nothing upstream can be recovered.

03 · Step

Automate DDS assembly

A consignment's DDS should compile from captured plot and custody data — hand-built statements do not scale to weekly shipments.

How Aeroz fits

Provenance that survives the mill.

Aeroz binds identity to physical units from collection point to refinery gate, appending custody events to an EPCIS 2.0 log with plot geolocation attached at origin. The due-diligence statement becomes a query over captured data — and the same trace answers customer and CSDDD audits without a second system.

FAQ

EUDR for palm oil, answered.

Which palm products are covered by EUDR?

Oil palm fruit, crude palm and palm kernel oil, and a broad annex of derivatives including refined fractions and many oleochemical products — scope follows the palm content downstream.

What geolocation precision is required?

Every plot of land where the fruit was grown: a point for plots under four hectares, polygon boundaries above that. Mill or estate centroids are not sufficient.

What is the deforestation cut-off?

Products must come from land not deforested after 31 December 2020, and production must comply with the producing country's laws — both proven, not presumed.

Can mass-balance certification satisfy EUDR?

No — certification schemes can support due diligence but do not replace it. The regulation requires plot-level traceability for the actual consignment, which mass-balance by definition does not provide.

Readiness audit

Know exactly where you stand — in 14 days.

A fixed-fee Aeroz audit maps your products against eudr for palm oil requirements and returns a written readiness assessment, a data-mapping review, and a scoped pilot plan with cost and timeline.

Fixed fee 14-day written report No commitment to proceed