Golden Agri-Resources partners with Verborg Group to pilot SmartTrace, a platform ensuring compliance with the European Union’s Anti-Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
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| GAR partners with Verborg Group to test SmartTrace platform for EUDR compliance, marking a significant step in ensuring sustainable and traceable palm oil supply chains. Image: Golden Agri-Resources |
Utrecht, Netherlands — March 11, 2025:
Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) has launched limited customer trials of its SmartTrace platform as part of efforts to support compliance with the European Union’s Anti-Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), set to take effect on December 30, 2025.
Verborg Group, which operates a cutting-edge tropical oil refinery in Farmsum, the Netherlands, is one of the first customers to pilot the SmartTrace system. The two companies formed a strategic partnership in early 2024 to bring high-quality, traceable, and deforestation-free oils to customers across Europe.
The trial, which began with a shipment of 9,500 metric tons of palm oil products in late February, is 100% traceable to plantations in Indonesia. This shipment marks a critical milestone in GAR’s ongoing testing of its compliance systems and processes ahead of EUDR implementation.
Goedhart Borgesius, Director of Verborg Group, highlighted the trial’s importance in assuring European buyers: “This shipment shows our commitment to sustainably produced, high-quality, and deforestation-free tropical oils, and reassures our customers that they are contributing to the eradication of deforestation risks from the supply chain.”
The EUDR mandates that operators importing certain products into the EU provide detailed due diligence reports confirming that the products are deforestation-free and comply with local laws. GAR’s SmartTrace platform aims to provide greater visibility and security for compliance data, improving transparency and trust in complex supply chains.
The web-based platform traces every part of a palm oil shipment back to the plantation level, authenticated using blockchain technology. GAR’s commitment to supply chain traceability has allowed the company to trace 100% of its palm oil production back to plantations and extend traceability to 99% of its supply chain in Indonesia.
In addition to palm oil, the system also tracks other oils, such as soy, sugar, coconut, and sunflower, and provides vital data for regulatory compliance. It enables companies and traders to generate reports addressing EUDR’s requirements for due diligence and deforestation risk mitigation.
Maarten van der Hoeven, Head of GAR for Europe and Latin America, explained: “By digitizing the due diligence process, SmartTrace helps customers manage and share data needed for EUDR compliance, ensuring accurate, efficient, and reliable data for deforestation-free palm oil.”
Beyond the EUDR, SmartTrace can adapt to other regulatory frameworks and complex reporting requirements, positioning GAR’s platform as a vital tool in promoting sustainability and transparency within the industry.