The EU deforestation regulation brings monumental changes within the coffee and cocoa industries. Companies importing coffee and cocoa into the EU will need to provide evidence that their products were not produced on lands that were deforested after 2020, or face hefty fines. And because we’re only 12 months away from the regulation coming into place, we decided to make three episodes about the industries' response toward the EUDR.

For this first EUDR episode, we talked with Michael Wienhold, Trader & Sourcing Professional at Rehm & Co. Rehm is a specialty coffee importing company based in Hamburg that sources throughout the coffee belt.

Michael talked about the negative response from the coffee market, the struggles to locate smallholder farmers, and the complex flow of coffee in origins like Ethiopia or Uganda. But we also talked about the industries’ concern for smaller companies downstream that might not be able to comply with the EUDR. And, although Michael sees many challenges, he can spot the opportunities and ways the industry can move forward too.