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Quick summary: Learn how to file a Due Diligence Statement (DDS) under EUDR with ease. Discover the key data, EU portal workflow, and how to automate submissions with traceability platforms like TraceX.
With EUDR enforcement just months away, agri-food exporters, importers, and supply chain managers are staring down a mountain of new documentation requirements. At the heart of these is the Due Diligence Statement under EUDR — a legally binding submission that proves your products are deforestation-free, legally produced, and fully traceable to their origin. But here’s the problem: most companies are still relying on manual methods like spreadsheets, fragmented supplier records, and back-and-forth emails to compile data. That means increased risk of errors, missed deadlines, audit failures, and even blocked shipments.
In this blog, we’ll break down exactly what a Due Diligence Statement entails, what data you’re expected to collect and submit, and how smart companies are already automating the entire DDS workflow — from geolocation capture to one-click EU submission — using digital traceability platforms. If you’re wondering how to get compliant quickly and confidently, you’re in the right place.
Key Takeaways
A Due Diligence Statement (DDS) under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is a formal document that proves your product—like cocoa, coffee, rubber, timber, or soy—has been sourced legally and without causing deforestation. It’s not just paperwork. It’s your ticket to keep doing business with the EU from 2026 onwards.
So, if you’re an importer, exporter, trader, processor, or brand dealing in EUDR-regulated commodities, you must submit a DDS before your product enters the EU market. That includes declaring:
Sounds heavy? It is—especially if you’re still juggling Excel sheets and WhatsApp messages from field teams.
Because under EUDR Due diligence , the burden of proof is on you. EU authorities won’t be verifying every farm or truckload themselves—they’ll be reviewing your DDS. If your statement is inaccurate, incomplete, or missing? Your shipment could be blocked at customs, and your brand reputation put at risk.
For compliance managers, it’s about avoiding costly penalties and delays.
For ESG teams, it’s about proving your sustainability claims are real.
For procurement and sourcing leads, it’s about ensuring smooth trade without firefighting last-minute documentation.
If you’ve asked yourself any of these, you’re not alone. Most supply chain teams are still trying to make sense of how DDS fits into their real-world workflows—and that’s exactly where a digitally enabled EUDR platform makes all the difference.
Instead of fearing the DDS, what if you could make it your competitive advantage?
If you’re asking yourself “What exactly do I need to submit in a DDS?” — you’re in the right place. Most supply chain and compliance teams aren’t short on intent; they’re short on clarity and tools. So let’s break it down.
A Due Diligence Statement under EUDR isn’t just a checkbox. It’s a detailed digital file that proves your commodity was produced legally, transparently, and without deforestation. To get it right (and avoid costly rejections), you’ll need five essential components:
This isn’t just about naming your supplier. You must provide polygon-level GPS coordinates of the exact plot(s) where the commodity was grown or raised.
Most smallholder farmers don’t have smartphones, let alone boundary maps. Field agents may still use pen and paper. And that’s where traceability tools with offline-first mapping and assisted onboarding come into play.
What your DDS must include:
You need to specify what you’re importing or exporting — and how much. This must match procurement records and trade documents.
Commodities often change hands multiple times. Volumes shift, lots get mixed, and tracking “which batch came from where” is nearly impossible without batch-level traceability.
What your DDS must include:
You must prove the farm operated in compliance with local land, labor, and environmental laws.
“How do I prove legality if my suppliers don’t have formal land titles?” This is where digital declarations, historical land-use records, and document vaults become invaluable.
What your DDS must include:
You’re required to assess whether your supply is at high, medium, or low risk — and show what you did about it.
Modern platforms can help with this, using satellite-backed deforestation alerts, geospatial overlays, and automated risk scoring.
What your DDS must include:
This is the final (and legal) statement — you confirm that your commodity was sourced in full compliance with EUDR.
If this declaration is false — knowingly or unknowingly — you’re liable. EU regulators are watching. That’s why automating evidence capture, document validation, and DDS filing matters.
What your DDS must include:
You’re not just submitting a form — you’re submitting a verified story of your supply chain, backed by data.
For most organizations, the bottleneck isn’t intention. It’s scale and systemization. That’s why leading exporters, cooperatives, and processors are adopting platforms that collect, organize, and file DDS data automatically — from field to submission.
If you’re still using Excel files, Dropbox folders, WhatsApp messages, and a mix of PDFs from suppliers to prepare your Due Diligence Statement under EUDR, you’re not alone.
But here’s the hard truth: manual DDS prep is slow, error-prone, and risky at scale.
And when EUDR enforcement kicks in, a small gap in your documentation can stop an entire container at the border.
Let’s break down where things typically go wrong — and why automation isn’t just a nice-to-have, but a must-have.
You’ve got sourcing from hundreds of farmers, maybe across different regions or co-ops. One shares a land deed via WhatsApp. Another gives you GPS over a call. Someone emails a photo of their declaration.
The result? No single source of truth. And come audit time, you’re scrambling to figure out which farmer’s data matches which batch.
Your goal: Centralize supplier data.
What’s missing: A system that links farmers → plots → batches → documents, all in one place.
Plot-level geolocation is non-negotiable under EUDR. But most smallholders don’t have smartphones, and many have never seen a polygon map of their land.
So now you’re trying to file a DDS — but don’t even have compliant GPS coordinates.
Common query:
“Can we use pin drops instead of polygons?”
Answer: Not anymore. You’ll need a geo-tagged, polygon-level map tied to land-use history from 2020 onward.
Your goal: Get compliant GPS and deforestation checks.
What’s missing: A mobile-first mapping tool that works offline and syncs securely.
Who updated the GPS file last? Did we use the wrong batch ID for that cocoa shipment? Is this the latest version of the farmer declarations?
If this sounds familiar, you’re not just managing risk — you’re multiplying it.
When DDS lives in multiple sheets across multiple teams, mistakes are inevitable.
Your goal: A single, auditable workflow.
What’s missing: A traceability system that logs every update, with version control and user access.
Let’s say your DDS makes it through submission. Now an EU authority or third-party auditor asks for a detailed record of land history, sourcing practices, and risk assessments.
If you can’t produce a timestamped, verified trail of how that data was collected, you’re at risk — even if your sourcing was clean.
Your goal: Stay audit-ready, not just compliant.
What’s missing: Automated data capture and traceable logs from field to file.
Here’s the part no one talks about: If you submit a DDS with incorrect or incomplete data, the EU can block your shipment at customs. That means lost revenue, spoiled goods, broken trust with buyers — and even loss of contracts.
Manual submission = higher error risk = real financial pain.
Your goal: Submit with confidence, not fingers crossed.
What’s missing: A platform that validates entries, auto-generates DDS files (PDF/XML), and integrates with the EU registry.
Your team likely isn’t ignoring compliance. But without the right tools, even the most well-intentioned DDS process becomes a liability. You need more than checklists. You need a system.
If you’re still assembling DDS reports with Excel, PDF attachments, and last-minute document hunts — you’re not alone. But you’re also racing against a ticking clock. EUDR enforcement begins soon, and manual workflows simply won’t scale.
With the right digital traceability platform, you can automate 80–90% of the DDS process — and turn compliance from a burden into a strategic advantage.
Forget vague locations or pin drops. EUDR requires plot-level precision — which means polygon boundaries, not just dots on a map.
With TraceX, your field agents can use an offline-first mobile app to map farmer plots even in low-connectivity areas. These maps sync with your central system automatically, reducing manual errors and ensuring every farmer’s data is audit-ready.
Tired of incomplete maps and unreliable GPS data from remote cocoa farms? Discover how one trading company overcame farm mapping chaos using TraceX’s “Walk and Plot” feature—designed for field agents in low-connectivity regions.
“What if my suppliers already have GPS maps?”
No problem. You can import GeoJSON files directly, saving time and validating them with satellite overlays for deforestation checks.
Traceability is about more than maps. It’s about linking everything: farmer → farm → batch → export. When this chain is broken, your DDS risks rejection.
With TraceX, each plot is automatically linked to harvest events, processing lots, and shipment batches — creating a clean, navigable record of the product’s journey. You can also attach:
All stored digitally. All version-controlled.
Not all sourcing regions are equal. That’s why EUDR requires a documented risk assessment — and mitigation steps for high-risk areas.
With a traceability platform like TraceX, you get:
Instead of guesswork, you get data-backed decisions — ready for your DDS.
Say goodbye to chasing down physical forms. Farmers or field staff can upload:
Even photos or voice recordings if literacy is low. Everything is time-stamped and stored securely.
Auditors love this: Clean trails, digital signatures, zero gaps.
Once your data is in, the platform can generate an EU-compliant DDS file — in PDF or XML — ready for submission.
No need to cobble together data from spreadsheets or retype batch volumes. The platform pulls:
…and wraps it all in a pre-formatted DDS, backed by an audit trai
This is the final mile. TraceX offers integration-ready outputs that plug into the EU’s Deforestation Due Diligence Registry. So you’re not just generating reports — you’re submitting them faster, more accurately, and with complete transparency.
Your goal isn’t just to comply. It’s to protect market access, build buyer trust, and avoid penalties. Automating DDS creation doesn’t just save time — it reduces risk, enhances credibility, and frees your team to focus on growth.
Submitting a Due Diligence Statement (DDS) under the EUDR isn’t just a bureaucratic requirement — it’s your passport to continued access to EU markets. And for agri-exporters, traders, and compliance teams juggling smallholder networks and audit risks, digitizing this process isn’t optional — it’s mission-critical.
Platforms like TraceX make DDS creation seamless by tying together geo-tagged farm data, document uploads, risk scoring, and one-click file generation, all in a format accepted by the EU registry. Less manual work. More peace of mind.
Operators (those placing goods on the EU market) must submit DDS files. Traders must retain and provide DDS data upon request unless they are direct importers, in which case they may also be considered operators.
Yes, but manual DDS preparation is prone to errors, slower to update, and harder to audit. A platform ensures compliance, traceability, and efficiency—especially for multi-origin sourcing.
If your DDS submission is incomplete, incorrect, or unverifiable, EU authorities can block your shipment, trigger audits, or impose penalties. That’s why real-time validation and automated filing are critical.
