EUDR for Côte d'Ivoire cocoa: plot geolocation and evidence your EU buyers need

EUDR for Côte d'Ivoire cocoa exporters: what changes on 30 December 2026

The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR, Regulation (EU) 2023/1115) applies from 30 December 2026 to large and medium EU operators and traders, and from 30 June 2027 to micro and small enterprises (Regulation (EU) 2025/2650). From those dates, an EU company may only place cocoa (HS 1801 beans, 1802 shells, 1803 paste, 1804 butter, 1805 powder and 1806 chocolate) on the EU market if it is deforestation-free (no deforestation after 31 December 2020), produced legally under the laws of Côte d'Ivoire, and covered by a due diligence statement (DDS).

As a supplier in Côte d'Ivoire you normally do not submit the DDS yourself – your EU buyer does. But the buyer can only do that with your data: geolocation of every plot, harvest dates, quantities, land and legality documents. That is why EU importers are now sending cocoa suppliers questionnaires, Excel templates and GeoJSON requests. This kit gives you one organised place to prepare those answers.

Côte d'Ivoire is not listed in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1093, so it has the default standard risk level. EU operators must run full due diligence (information, risk assessment, risk mitigation) – expect detailed questions and document requests.

What EU buyers ask their suppliers for

Records must be kept for 5 years (Art. 9(1)). The kit does not replace your buyer's own template – it helps you fill any template quickly and consistently.

EUDR geolocation for cocoa farms in Côte d'Ivoire: the rules that trip suppliers up

Ivorian cocoa comes mostly from smallholder plots in regions such as Nawa (Soubré), Haut-Sassandra (Daloa), San-Pédro and Gôh. Many plots are below 4 ha (a point is enough), but larger plots need a polygon – and EU buyers pay close attention to plots near protected areas (forêts classées). The register keeps region, department/sub-prefecture and village or camp as printed on local documents.

EUDR due diligence statement: what a cocoa supplier must give the EU buyer

The DDS is filed by the EU operator in the EU information system. It references the geolocation and product data you supply. In practice buyers ask for three deliverables per shipment: (1) a plot list or GeoJSON file, (2) a lot-to-plot link showing which plots supplied each container, and (3) evidence of deforestation-free and legal production. Tabs 02, 04 and 05 of the workbook produce exactly these, and tab 07 counts inconsistencies before you send anything.

Typical Ivorian evidence: land certificate (certificat foncier), customary or village attestation, sharecropping/'planté-partagé' agreements, cooperative member registers and producer/farmer IDs where available, child-labour monitoring records, purchase receipts and bag tags per farmer.

Ivorian cocoa in EU trade

Eurostat Comext shows the EU imported about €4.7 billion of cocoa beans (HS 1801) and €1.65 billion of cocoa paste (HS 1803) from Côte d'Ivoire in 2025 – the largest cocoa origin by far. Grinders must link paste, butter and powder back to the plots of the beans used.

Sample: plot register with automatic checks (Côte d'Ivoire cocoa, fictional data)

This is a live extract of the filled example workbook included in the kit. The CHECK columns are Excel formulas – they flag missing decimals, plots needing polygons, locations outside the country, duplicates and date errors.

All names, coordinates and documents in the example are fictional.

What's inside the ZIP

• EUDR Buyer Response Workbook (.xlsx) – 9 tabs: intake, plot register (300 rows), geolocation checklist, lots & plot links (60 lots / 600 links), evidence register, buyer questionnaire, inconsistency checks, sources & change log; bilingual English + French
• Filled EXAMPLE workbook – fictional Côte d'Ivoire cocoa data with deliberate errors to learn from
• Offline geolocation checker (.html) – paste coordinates or open a GeoJSON file; checks decimals, polygon closure, self-intersections, country bounding box; exports a clean GeoJSON
• Buyer questionnaire response (.docx) – pre-structured answers mapped to Art. 9 and Art. 10
• Quick-start guide (.pdf) – one-page workflow
• Buyer email templates (.txt) – request, reply and follow-up
• Sample GeoJSON – correct structure with points and a polygon

FAQ

Official sources

Checked on 29 September 2026. Links open the official EU pages.

1. Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 (EUDR), consolidated text incl. Regulation (EU) 2025/2650 – EUR-Lex, consolidated 26 Dec 2025
2. Regulation (EU) 2025/2650 amending the EUDR (application dates) – Official Journal of the EU, 23 Dec 2025
3. Regulation on deforestation-free products – application dates – European Commission, DG ENV, checked 29 Sep 2026
4. Delay until December 2026 and other developments in the implementation of the EUDR – European Commission, Access2Markets, 28 Jan 2026
5. EUDR Information System – GeoJSON File Description – European Commission (TRACES), updated 17 Aug 2026
6. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1093 – country benchmarking – EUR-Lex, 22 May 2025
7. EUDR implementation – how the EUDR applies outside the EU – European Commission, Green Forum, checked 29 Sep 2026
8. FAQ – EUDR implementation – European Commission, see page
9. Eurostat Comext – EU imports by partner and product (DS-045409), 2025 – Eurostat, dataset updated 15 Sep 2026