How do I request geolocation data for plots from my supplier?

Request geolocation as a fixed dataset per delivery

The geolocation of a plot is requested as a standard part of the data that accompanies each delivery: supplier name and address, country of origin, and the coordinates of each plot from which the product originates. For smaller plots, a single point (longitude and latitude) is usually sufficient; for larger plots, and for certain products such as cattle and palm oil, the perimeter of the plot is requested at multiple points — a polygon. These data should be linked to the production date, so that the connection between plot and delivery remains traceable.

In practice, a fixed request works best: a list of the requested fields — coordinates, production date, country of origin, reference to the delivery note — that goes to the supplier in the same way each time and comes back in a fixed file format, so that the data can later be combined into a file per product stream. Suppliers who already work with certification systems often have this data already recorded; suppliers who do not may need time to map plots. This makes requesting early in the process more practical than just before submission to the EU information system.

Legal basis in Article 9 and Annex II

This practice aligns with Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, which lists the information that an economic operator collects before a product is placed on the market, including the geographical location of all plots of origin. Annex II of the regulation sets out how that location is recorded, with a distinction between point locations and polygons depending on the size and type of plot. For the precise technical implementation in each situation, the full text on EUR-Lex is the appropriate source.