Early EUDR response yields positive results for Central Highlands coffee sector

Opportunity to restructure the coffee sector

According to the Plant Production and Protection Department (MAE), the Central Highlands currently has 676,500 ha of coffee, accounting for 92.4% of the country’s total coffee area. In 2025, yield is estimated at 30.7 quintals/ha, with total production of 1.989 million tons, representing 98.7% of national output. Compared to 2024, the area increased by 200 ha, yield rose by 0.5 quintal/ha, and production grew by 80,600 tons.

On November 17, 2021, the European Commission proposed the “Regulation on preventing the import of commodities linked to deforestation and forest degradation.” By 2023, the European Council adopted the “Regulation on the import and export of commodities that do not cause deforestation and forest degradation in the European Union,” commonly referred to as the EU Deforestation-Free Regulation (EUDR).

Under the initial plan, EUDR was set to apply from December 30, 2024, for import-export businesses, and from June 2025 for small and medium enterprises. However, on October 16, 2024, the European Commission officially postponed compliance to December 30, 2025, and for small, medium, and micro-enterprises to June 30, 2026. On July 7, 2025, the EC held a press conference announcing a further delay, considering enforcement from December 30, 2026.

According to the Plant Production and Protection Department, this one-year extension provides an important “buffer,” giving Vietnamese coffee businesses additional time to review supply chains, invest in traceability technology, and strengthen compliance capacity to better meet the EU’s stringent requirements.

“The EUDR presents a major challenge but also an opportunity to restructure the coffee sector toward sustainability and professionalism. To meet EUDR requirements, businesses must closely monitor production areas, cultivate sustainably certified coffee, develop digital mapping, and ensure traceability down to individual farmers,” said Mr. Nguyen Quoc Manh, Deputy Director of the Plant Production and Protection Department.

Urgent actions

Following Official Letter No. 5179/BNN-HTQT dated August 1, 2023, from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) on implementing the action plan framework to comply with the EU Deforestation-Free Regulation, local authorities in the Central Highlands have taken decisive steps to respond to the regulation.

In Dak Lak Province, immediately after the Ministry’s directive, the provincial People’s Committee issued a decision to collaborate with IDH to establish a database system; develop a forest database platform in line with EUDR requirements; convert and integrate cadastral map data into the database; build a survey app for production areas; and conduct field surveys to collect planting data.

In Lam Dong Province, nearly 29% of coffee areas in Di Linh and Lac Duong districts have now been mapped. Notably, a traceability system pilot in Di Linh, supported by IDH, covers 25.8% of the province’s coffee area. Currently, 49.3% of the coffee area holds sustainable production certification.

In Gia Lai Province, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has established a provincial public-private task force to implement the action plan framework for adapting to the EUDR. The Department has also issued multiple communications to local enterprises, including Vinh Hiep Co., Ltd., Vietnam Coffee Corporation, Vietnam Rubber Group, and Military Unit 15, regarding the development of transparent planting area databases and product traceability systems to comply with EUDR requirements.

To date, many companies have actively implemented EUDR measures. Vinh Hiep Co., Ltd. has surveyed 18,752 ha of coffee involving 11,286 households and has completed approximately 60% of the work, ready to collaborate with provincial authorities to transfer initial data. Coffee 706 Co. has digitized 720 ha of its coffee areas, mapping plot locations, boundaries, origins, and ensuring compliance with EUDR. Ia Sao 1 Coffee Company has also completed digital mapping to ensure compliance with the regulation.

According to the Plant Production and Protection Department, localities in the Central Highlands have now completed 95% of the EUDR forest database work, including: identifying boundaries of planned forestry land, natural forest land, and planted forest land; and mapping areas of planned forestry land without forest cover. The remaining 5% involves mapping forest areas at risk due to agricultural activities.

Regarding the survey and data collection for coffee planting areas, the pilot program has so far covered over 137,000 ha and nearly 120,000 coffee-growing households. The Department stated that through the end of this year and into 2026, it will continue coordinating with IDH to complete and refine the planting area and traceability database, as well as develop guidance materials for the coffee and rubber sectors.

Accordingly, the pilot program for collecting coffee planting area data in the Central Highlands will continue to expand. IDH, together with the Departments of Agriculture and Environment of the Central Highlands provinces and local enterprises, has planned surveys covering approximately 462,000 ha of coffee, including 136,000 ha from the pilot phase and 325,000 ha from the expansion phase (equivalent to 80% of the coffee area).

At the same time, a new EUDR database software is being developed with three information platforms: the EUDR forest database, the coffee planting area database, and the coffee product traceability system. Once completed, the new database software will integrate all pilot phase data into the system to support traceability implementation.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Manh stated that in 2026, the Plant Production and Protection Department will assist localities in strengthening EUDR compliance capacity for the coffee and rubber sectors by evaluating enterprises’ adherence to EUDR, proposing compliance solutions, developing and issuing EUDR compliance guidance for coffee and rubber, raising awareness of EUDR regulations in coffee- and rubber-growing provinces, and providing training to local officials, farmers, and producers.

According to the EU’s national risk classification under EUDR published on May 22, 2025, Vietnam is classified as “low risk,” meaning products such as coffee, rubber, and wood exported from Vietnam to the EU are subject to a simplified due diligence process, with a compliance verification rate of 1%. However, the Plant Production and Protection Department emphasizes that being classified as “low risk” does not change the legal obligations of Vietnamese exporters, who must still fully comply with all EUDR requirements.