UTRECHT, Netherlands, March 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) has launched limited customer trials for its SmartTrace due diligence platform, as part of a broader programme to support compliance with the incoming European Union Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR), set to take effect on 30 December 2025.
Among the first customers to pilot the SmartTrace system is Verborg Group, which operates a state-of-the-art tropical oil refinery in Farmsum, the Netherlands. GAR and Verborg Group established a strategic partnership for tropical oil supply in early 2024 to bring high-quality, traceable and deforestation-free oils to customers across Europe.
The trial involved a shipment of 9,500 metric tonnes of palm oil products delivered to Verborg Group's refinery in late February. This shipment is 100% traceable to the plantations where it was grown in Indonesia and is part of ongoing tests of compliance systems and processes ahead of EUDR implementation.
Goedhart Borgesius, Director of Verborg Group, emphasised the importance of the trial to reassure European buyers about EUDR preparations: "We recognise the responsibility we have to our customers to provide sustainably-produced, high quality and deforestation-free tropical oils. This shipment marks a milestone in our ability to demonstrate these attributes and offer our customers confidence that they are helping to eradicate deforestation risk from the tropical oil supply chain."
Enhancing Trust in Complex Supply Chains
The EUDR mandates that operators importing selected commodities into the EU provide detailed due diligence reports confirming these products are free from deforestation risk and are produced in accordance with local laws.
GAR's SmartTrace platform is designed to provide enhanced visibility and security for this due diligence data, enhancing trust and transparency in complex commodity supply chains.
The web-based platform gives operators unprecedented oversight of their entire palm oil supply chain. The system can track each constituent part of a palm oil shipment down to plantation level, giving users an end-to-end view of product sourcing that is authenticated using blockchain technology.
SmartTrace builds on a decade of investment into supply chain traceability from GAR. The company can trace 100% of the palm produced on its estates to plantation level and has extended Traceability to the Plantation (TTP) to 99% of its total palm oil supply chain in Indonesia. Supply of soy, sugar, coconut and sunflower oil are also 100% Traceable to the Mill.
Addressing Emerging Compliance Needs
In addition to showing where palm products have been produced and traded, the system provides critical information and analysis to support buyers' compliance with incoming regulations.
Companies and traders using the system will be able to produce detailed reports that address vital requirements for EUDR compliance including due diligence and risk mitigation status for deforestation and legality. These reports are tailored to integrate with the EU's TRACES platform, providing customers with the necessary information to complete their due diligence statements efficiently.
Maarten van der Hoeven, GAR's Head of Europe and LatAm, explained the advantages of the system: "By digitising the due diligence process, SmartTrace helps our customers to collect, manage and share the data needed to meet EUDR requirements. In a complex supply chain where compliance data for one shipment can contain millions of data points, we want to ensure our customers can access accurate, efficient and trusted data to demonstrate their palm oil is deforestation-free."
Beyond the EUDR, SmartTrace is also adaptable to other regulatory frameworks and complex data and reporting requirements.
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