Kuala Lumpur, 17 April 2025 – Yesterday, the European Commission published a new simplification package for the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), updating its Guidance and FAQ documents for importers and Member States’ competent authorities. This package follows through on the Commission’s December 2024 pledge to “provide further clarification on the legislation and explore additional simplifications through updates of the guidelines and the FAQ document.”
A central feature of the package is a proposal to significantly reduce the number of Due Diligence Statements (DDSs) required to be submitted via the EUDR’s IT platform. The Commission estimates these changes will reduce compliance-related administrative costs for companies by 30%.
MPOC acknowledges the Commission’s efforts to ease the administrative burden on businesses, and strongly supports global initiatives to protect forests and preserve biodiversity. However, compliance mechanisms must reflect real differences, as a one-size-fits-all approach imposes unnecessary costs on low-risk producers, driving up prices for European consumers without delivering environmental benefits.
While the simplification package includes long-awaited clarifications, such as allowing annual DDS submissions that can be passed along supply chains, it offers no substantive update on the Commission’s benchmarking process. These simplifications may not fully benefit producing countries, as they are still required to meet the EUDR’s rigorous due diligence requirements, which takes up significant financial resources, especially for our smallholders.
MPOC Chief Executive Officer, Belvinder Sron said: “We believe that further measures will be necessary to achieve the Commission’s 30% cost reduction target. To deliver meaningful savings for both producers and consumers, the EU should move towards greater alignment with existing national certification schemes that meet equivalent standards. Additionally, a broader designation of low-risk status would reduce duplication and streamline compliance”.
The EU Deforestation Free Regulation (EUDR) is aimed at minimising EU-driven deforestation and forest degradation. It requires seven commodities and their derivatives – cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya, and wood entering the EU market to be deforestation-free, legally produced and covered by a due diligence statement. Of these seven commodities, palm oil, rubber, timber, and cocoa are produced by Malaysia.
EUDR will enter into application by end 2025.
For more information on MPOC and Malaysian palm oil, visit www.mpoc.org.my
