EUDR by commodity

EUDR for Soy

Soya (soy) is one of the seven EUDR commodities, so soya beans and products made from them, including flour, oil and meal, must be proven deforestation-free and legally produced before sale in or export from the EU. The hard part for soy is the sheer volume and fragmentation of sourcing, much of it bound for animal feed. This page explains what is covered and what to do.

Vast green soybean field stretching to the horizon at golden hour

TL;DR

  • Soya is in scope, covering beans, flour and meal, soya oil and oilcake in Annex I.
  • Products must be deforestation-free (no clearing after 31 December 2020) and legally produced, backed by a Due Diligence Statement.
  • Deadlines: 30 December 2026 for large and medium companies, 30 June 2027 for micro and small ones.
  • The hard part is the large, fragmented sourcing base and the feed chain, where soya is mixed at huge scale.
Get the EUDR ChecklistCheck if you are in scope

In scope

What the EUDR covers for soy

  • Soya beans, whether or not broken (heading 1201).
  • Soya bean flour and meal (heading 1208) and oilcake and other solid residues from extracting soya oil (heading 2304).
  • Soya-bean oil and its fractions (heading 1507).

Annex I lists each product by its CN/HS customs code. Soya meal and oilcake used in animal feed are common in-scope products. Confirm each product by its code.

These products are listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 by their CN/HS customs code, so you confirm scope by matching your product code, not the product name alone.

The hard part

The hard part for soy

  • Large fragmented base: soya is traded in enormous volumes from many farms and silos, so building plot-level traceability across that base is a major undertaking.
  • Commodity mixing: beans from many farms are pooled at elevators and crushers, breaking the link between a shipment and specific plots.
  • The feed chain: much soya enters the EU as meal and oilcake for animal feed, adding tiers and handlers between farm and operator.
  • Capturing geolocation and quantities consistently across a high-volume, low-margin trade.

The dual test applies throughout: an in-scope product must be both deforestation-free, meaning no clearing after 31 December 2020, and legally produced. Art. 3

Origins and risk

Where it comes from and the risk tiers

Common origins for soy and their current EUDR risk tier. The tier decides how much due diligence applies, with low-risk origins allowing simplified due diligence. Country benchmarking (2025/1093)

  • BrazilStandard risk
  • United StatesLow risk
  • ArgentinaStandard risk
  • ParaguayStandard risk
  • CanadaLow risk

The country tier sets how much due diligence applies. Low-risk origins allow simplified due diligence; standard-risk origins, including major soy exporters, need the full process. Tiers can change, as the list is reviewed in 2026.

Look up any country in the country-risk tool.

What to do

What to do for soy

  1. Confirm scope by matching your soya products against the CN/HS codes in Annex I.
  2. Map the sourcing base, including elevators, crushers and feed handlers, back to the farms and plots.
  3. Collect geolocation for every plot, plus country of production, quantities and supplier details.
  4. Check each origin country’s risk tier and run risk assessment and mitigation for standard and high-risk origins.
  5. File a Due Diligence Statement in the EU Information System and pass the reference number down the chain.

For the full obligations and the due-diligence process, see the EUDR obligations guide, and for collecting data from suppliers see the supplier data guide.

FAQ

Soy and the EUDR: common questions

Is soya meal for animal feed covered by the EUDR?
Yes. Soya bean flour and meal and oilcake from extracting soya oil are in scope under Annex I, and these are the typical products entering the EU as animal feed. Confirm each product by its CN/HS code.
Is soya oil in scope?
Yes. Soya-bean oil and its fractions fall under Annex I heading 1507, so refined and crude soya oil are covered.
Why is soy traceability so hard?
Soya moves in very large volumes and is pooled across many farms at elevators and crushers, which breaks the link to specific plots. Much of it also reaches the EU as feed after several handling tiers, so rebuilding plot-level traceability is a substantial task.
When does the EUDR apply to soy?
Large and medium operators and traders must comply from 30 December 2026, and micro and small enterprises from 30 June 2027, where they were established as micro or small by 31 December 2024.
Do feed producers have to comply?
It depends on their role. The operator who first places in-scope soya products on the EU market files the Due Diligence Statement. Downstream operators and traders working with already-covered inputs mainly collect and pass on reference numbers.

Get ready for the EUDR

Work through the EUDR Readiness Checklist, then explore the tools and guides built for your role.

Get the EUDR Checklist

This is guidance, not legal advice

This is guidance to help you understand how the EUDR applies to soy, not legal advice. For decisions specific to your business, confirm with the official sources we link or a qualified adviser.

Sources

  1. [1]Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, consolidated text including Annex I (EUR-Lex)retrieved 4 Jun 2026
  2. [2]European Commission: Regulation on deforestation-free productsretrieved 4 Jun 2026
  3. [3]European Commission Green Forum: EUDR implementationretrieved 4 Jun 2026
  4. [4]First country benchmarking list under the EUDR (2025/1093)retrieved 4 Jun 2026
  5. [5]Council of the EU: targeted revision (second delay and simplification)retrieved 4 Jun 2026
  6. [6]Commission simplification review of 4 May 2026 (draft Annex I changes)retrieved 4 Jun 2026

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