How are Central America's coffee value chains preparing for new regulations on deforestation-free products?

By Guy José Bendaña-Guerrero & Asociados

This article was originally published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

About one quarter of Guatemalan coffee and over half of Honduran coffee exports are destined for the European Union. Most of that coffee is grown by smallholder farmers. But as of January 2026, European Union importers will be required to ensure that imported coffee, along with eight other product groups affected by the regulation, does not cause deforestation or forest degradation.

To address this challenge, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Bank, with support from Guatemala’s National Coffee Association (Anacafé) organized a workshop today in Guatemala City. The initiative aimed to discuss technical solutions and identify priority investments to support the Central American coffee sector in preparing for due diligence requirements introduced for European importers by the new regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR).

The event brought together 65 participants from the public and private sectors in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. Besides representatives from Central American coffee organizations, producer associations, cooperatives and federations, exporters, and research institutes, the workshop also included representatives from the European Union, international financial institutions and UN agencies.

For Hans Jansen, Senior Agriculture Economist from the World Bank, the workshop was an opportunity to learn about how the four coffee exporting countries are gearing up for EUDR and how the Bank’s operations can be supportive of the countries’ effort to produce coffee sustainably and access markets.

"The obligation to collect and manage information for due diligence - to make sure that coffee was legally produced and did not cause deforestation or forest degradation - will cascade down the supply chain, right down to the smallholder coffee farmers in these exporting countries,” he said. “Robust ways for collecting evidence are needed to ensure that they continue having access to this very important and lucrative market."

Ekaterina Krivonos, FAO Investment Centre Service Chief for Latin America and the Caribbean, added that the workshop enabled coffee stakeholders to share their experiences in identifying accessible technical solutions and the needed investments for sustainably grown coffee and transparent market information.

"The discussions examined the types of investments these stakeholders have had to make and those they foresee in the future,” she said. “They also focused on data accessibility and management, digital systems and collaboration between the public and private sectors that could help producers, processors and traders generate the information along the value chain needed for due diligence processes."

Better coordination

The workshop’s panel sessions and roundtable discussions covered everything from lessons learnt around forest and land use monitoring to traceability systems to assess good practices and their costs along the value chain.

Among the challenges Central Americans face is the lack of unified databases. There is limited clarity on how the various data gathering and management digital systems work and interact, how the quality of the data is verified, who owns the data, and to what extent they are ultimately recognized by importers and competent authorities in the European Union.

Increased alignment on tools and methodologies – to avoid multiple georeferencing of the same plot, for example, or to have an agreed method for verifying low deforestation risk – can increase efficiency and effectiveness of due diligence processes for importers. This in turn can reduce deforestation risks while enabling coffee producers to continue accessing European Union markets. Workshop participants discussed the importance of digital system interoperability and of promoting digital public infrastructure for more streamlined information.

The European Union and its partners have launched the Team Europe Initiative on Deforestation-free Value Chains presented at the workshop. Together, they are supporting governments to create the enabling conditions for stronger corporate action to minimize deforestation, reduce value chain risks and increase private investment. They are also supporting smallholder farmers to adopt more sustainable production and land management practices, as well as assisting Indigenous and local communities in protecting their rights.

Public-private partnerships

Public-private partnerships are instrumental for increasing transparency in information flows and distributing the costs associated with data collection along the value chain, with the public sector providing critical guidance, standardization and public goods.

In line with the above, Klemen Gamboa, Vice Minister of Food and Nutritional Security, stated: "We know that compliance with these regulations by importers requires more than just goodwill. It demands investment, technology, technical assistance, access to georeferenced information, and above all, articulated action among all stakeholders: government, private sector, cooperatives, and the countries in the region,” she said. "This is why, this year, we will launch an update to the study, ‘Determination of Vegetation Cover and Land Use at a 1:50,000 Scale in the Republic of Guatemala,’ which will contribute to the planning of production areas and can be used as a reference in relation to the European Green Deal."

Meanwhile, Ricardo Andrés Destarac Bardales, President of Anacafé, noted: "Anacafé has been developing tools that demonstrate coffee traceability from its origin, including data management supported by geospatial analyses and information systems. This is part of a comprehensive strategy aligned with sectoral policies and the Sustainable Development Goals."

Finally, Nestor Javier Meneses, Technical Deputy Manager of the Honduran Coffee Institute, highlighted the importance of these spaces for knowledge exchange. "This workshop greatly assisted us in harmonizing the preparatory measures of producing countries with the collaborative efforts of international organizations. Honduras has advanced through individual efforts of stakeholders within the value chain, which we must now integrate into a consolidated system that fosters confidence in the European market," he said.

Looking ahead, FAO in cooperation with the World Bank will prepare post-workshop briefs for both Guatemala and Honduras as a follow-up to the FAO/World Bank publication released last year. These analyses will outline investment needs and costs of producing and managing the required information – measures that can ultimately increase the sustainability and competitiveness of their coffee sectors.