Guides / Compliance

EUDR for Plywood: What EU Buyers Have to Collect

September 21, 2026

The EU deforestation regulation changed what an EU plywood importer has to hold on file. It is not a certificate you buy. It is a data file you build, and most of the data only exists at the mill and the veneer supplier behind it.

What the regulation asks

Three things, in plain terms:

1. Deforestation free. The wood did not come from land deforested after the cut off date in the regulation
2. Legal. The harvest complied with the laws of the country where it happened
3. Traceable. You can show where the wood came from, down to geolocation of the plots of land

The obligation sits with the operator placing the product on the EU market. On an import, that is usually you, not the mill. The mill is your evidence source.

What that means for Vietnam plywood

Most Vietnamese plywood uses plantation acacia and eucalyptus, often from smallholder plantations. That helps on the deforestation question and complicates the traceability question, because one container can contain veneer from many small plots.

Practical consequences:

• Mills that have organised their veneer supply can produce plot data. Mills that buy veneer on the open market often cannot
• The answer depends on the veneer supply chain, not on the press. Ask who supplies the veneer and whether that supply is mapped
• Imported veneer changes the picture entirely, and it is also the question behind duty exposure, covered in CARB P2 and TSCA Title VI

The data to request, before the order

Item	Why
Species, scientific name	Required in the declaration
Country and region of harvest	Required
Geolocation of the harvest plots	The core traceability requirement
Quantity linked to your shipment	Ties the evidence to the container
Legality evidence	Harvest permits, land use documents, supplier declarations
Supplier declarations up the chain	Veneer mill and plantation level

Ask for a sample pack for one past shipment before you place the order. A mill that can produce it for an old shipment can produce it for yours. A mill that sends a certificate instead of data has not understood the question, and that is useful to learn early.

How to ask without stalling production

Mills are under pressure from every EU customer at once and the requests arrive in a hundred different formats. Two things make it work:

• Send a template. One spreadsheet with the fields you need, the same one every time
• Ask at enquiry stage, not at shipment stage. Plot data cannot be reconstructed after the panels are pressed and the veneer is mixed

Where FSC fits

An FSC claim is supporting evidence. It is not a due diligence statement and it does not carry plot geolocation on its own. Treat the two files as separate and let the FSC claim strengthen the legality side. The scope of that claim is explained in FSC plywood from Vietnam.

One honest warning

Application dates for this regulation have shifted more than once, and the detail of what satisfies a competent authority is still settling. Build the file anyway. The data is the hard part and it takes months to organise, while the filing itself is administration. Nothing here is legal advice, and your customs broker or trade association has the current position for your product and member state.

The December 2025 amendment and the 30 December 2026 application date are in our guide to plywood import requirements; a template for the data is in the plywood legality data sheet.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

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