"Costa Rica’s Successes in EUDR Compliance Illuminates the Struggles of Others", 25 May 2026

...Costa Rica’s famous coffee industry says it’s nearly ready for EUDR. The upcoming European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requires that all coffee shipped into the EU not come from recently deforested land, prompting Costa Rica to develop a pilot program with its largest coffee cooperative.

The initial program provided tools and training to help growers, processors, roasters and exporters comply with the new rules. Over the past year, this pilot has expanded, giving these resources to all coffee producers nationally — and bringing Costa Rica closer to being one of the first nations to certify an entire sector as EUDR-ready.

Costa Rica’s success serves as an important case study for the coffee industry, both in how others might prepare for the new rules, and why they may struggle in comparison...

Costa Rica, which ships 33% of its coffee to the EU, began preparing for the new rules early. For a commodity like coffee — grown, roasted, processed and packaged — complying with the new rules starts at the beginning.

The country’s initial pilot provided training and workshops on EUDR rules to producers, processors and exporters via CoopeTarrazú, the country’s largest growers’ cooperative...

In countries where there is significant deforestation, Grabs said there’s a risk that operators and traders might instead segment — sending products that can already prove compliance with EUDR to the EU, and shipping those that would take additional work to certify elsewhere.

As a result, Grabs said she’s skeptical about how much the new regulations will truly prevent deforestation...