The big news this week has been the delaying of the EU Deforestation Regulation until 30 December 2026. News came unexpectedly as BMPA was involved in a, now familiar, robust discussion surrounding how much granularity of traceability reporting the UK should be planning for. We think simplicity will be the key.

Judging by the letter from the EU Environment Commissioner, Jessika Roswall, what’s behind this delay is the concern that the Commission’s IT system doesn’t have the capacity to deal with the volume of interactions that will be needed to administer all the products for the commodities. In her letter Ms Roswall says: “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.”

It’s also suspected that most EU countries as well as some third countries are still not ready to comply with the new requirements. The delay will afford the EC the opportunity to further simplify those requirements.

There are still some necessary formalities for the Commission to approve the delay but it seems likely it will go through. Meanwhile Lucas Daglish, BMPA’s Sustainability Manager will continue to work with members to get consensus amongst UK processors on reporting requirements. You can read an overview of this latest development from Euractive and also download a copy of the letter outlining the reasons for the delay.

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