2026-10-20 • 5 min read • Author: Arina Öström
After two postponements, the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) will apply from 30 December 2026. In May 2026 the European Commission published its simplification package and confirmed that the date will not be moved again.
For the timber sector there is no extra grace period. The rules apply from the same day to large and medium-sized companies and to micro and small companies in the timber sector. Only micro and small operators outside the timber sector have until 30 June 2027.
The EUDR replaces the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which focused mainly on whether wood was harvested legally. The new regulation goes further. A product may only be placed on the EU market if it is: - deforestation-free — produced on land that has not been deforested after 31 December 2020; - legal — produced in line with the laws of the country of production; - covered by a due diligence statement filed in the EU information system before the goods are placed on the market.
The genuinely new element is geolocation. The company must be able to show where the wood was harvested, down to the plot of land. For many supply chains, this is the hardest requirement to meet.
The obligations sit with the company that places the product on the EU market — in practice the Swedish importer, not the Ukrainian sawmill. But the importer cannot file a due diligence statement without data from the supplier.
This changes the balance in supplier selection. A producer that can deliver origin documents and geolocation data in a usable format becomes a far easier supplier to work with than one that cannot, even at a slightly higher price.
Wood is one of seven commodities in the regulation, alongside cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber and soya. For wood, the scope covers a wide range of products — from sawn timber and wood-based panels to joinery, wooden furniture and fuel wood. The list of covered products was amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2102, in force since 18 September 2026, so companies should check their CN codes against the current version.
Ukraine has large hardwood resources — oak, ash, beech — and many producers already sell to European customers. Legality documentation has been part of this trade for years under the EUTR, which gives a starting point. What is new for most Ukrainian producers is systematic geolocation data and a document trail that links each delivery to the area where the wood was harvested.
- **Swedish buyers:** map which purchases from Ukraine fall under the EUDR and agree with suppliers now which data they will deliver, in what format and how often. - **Ukrainian producers:** prepare origin documents and geolocation for each batch. Buyers will start asking for this in contracts and tenders. - **Both sides:** write the EUDR data requirements into the contract rather than leaving them to email exchanges.
Nordic Dew works with Swedish buyers and Ukrainian wood producers on both sides of this process — from clarifying requirements to coordinating documents. [Read more about supplier search](/sourcing/).
- [Council of the EU: Deforestation — Council signs off targeted revision to simplify and postpone the regulation (18 December 2025)](https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2025/12/18/deforestation-council-signs-off-targeted-revision-to-simplify-and-postpone-the-regulation/) - [HLC: Commission publishes EUDR simplification package ahead of December 2026 application date (May 2026)](https://www.hlc.com/en/publications/eu-deforestation-regulation-commission-publishes-simplification-package-ahead-of-december-2026)