Overview

• Large companies must comply from December 30, 2025, with small and medium‑sized firms following by summer 2026 after a short transition.
• The regulation covers coffee, cocoa, palm oil, soy, beef and wood, requiring GPS‑level origin data to show production did not involve post‑2020 deforestation.
• Supermarket groups and industry economists warn of heavy bureaucracy and higher costs that could lift shelf prices, while REWE says price effects cannot yet be predicted.
• Coffee is flagged as especially vulnerable, with the German coffee association citing roughly 20% farmer readiness and Darboven warning of possible raw‑coffee shortages.
• Germany’s government is seeking exemptions for domestic farming and forestry and exploring a delay, while the European Commission says consumer‑price impacts should be limited.