Requesting origin data from a foreign supplier: what is different?
Asking a foreign supplier for plots, coordinates and harvest dates is different from asking the same question of a trading partner nearby. Not because legal requirements vary by country — the regulation applies to the product regardless of where it comes from — but because the practice of collecting, recording and sharing data varies considerably from country to country.
That difference lies in three things: how land registration is organized there, what language and systems are customary, and how familiar a supplier already is with the idea that a European buyer is asking for geolocation data. If you know this beforehand, you can conduct the conversation more purposefully and avoid misunderstandings that only come to light later.
Land registration is not equally developed everywhere
In some countries, cadastral registration at plot level is well organized and a supplier can provide exact coordinates within a day. In other countries that registration exists, but not in digital form, or the administration is held by a local cooperative rather than by the individual farmer. This does not automatically mean the data does not exist — it often means that an extra step is needed to obtain it, for example through a cooperative, a certification organization or a local intermediary.
It is therefore wise not to ask 'do you have the coordinates', but to ask how registration in that country is normally structured and who has access to it. This gives a more realistic picture of what is achievable and within what timeframe.
Language, systems and data format
A second difference lies in the form in which data is provided. One supplier sends a neat spreadsheet with latitude and longitude, another provides a hand-drawn sketch or a reference to a local land register that can only be accessed in the local language and with a local account. Both can ultimately lead to usable data, but the path to get there differs greatly, and that takes time to bridge.
It helps to share a fixed format in advance — for example a simple template with the fields that are needed — so the supplier knows exactly what is being asked, regardless of the form in which the source data is locally available. the knowledge base with explanations per topic goes into more detail on what geolocation data must contain.
Familiarity with the request itself
In countries where other chain assurance schemes have been used for some time, a supplier is often already accustomed to providing origin data and understands immediately why it is being asked. Elsewhere this is a new request for the supplier, and the conversation may focus more on explanation than execution: why is this necessary, what happens with the data, and does anything change in the trading relationship.
That explanation is worth preparing in advance, in simple language and without assumptions about prior knowledge. A supplier who understands why something is being asked usually cooperates more quickly and completely than a supplier who simply receives a list of requirements.
What this means for your planning
The practical consequence is mainly a matter of time. Retrieving data from a supplier where registration is in order and the request is familiar can be quick. Retrieving data from a supplier where that is not the case requires more steps: providing explanation, bringing in an intermediary, waiting for a local register, and sometimes a second or third request because the initial delivery was incomplete. If you plan for this well in advance, you can prevent the supply of data from becoming the bottleneck at the moment when the declaration must be submitted.
Whether the data provided is subsequently sufficient for your own risk assessment remains a decision that lies with the economic operator itself. If you are in doubt about what is necessary or sufficient in a specific situation, the competent supervisory authority or a legal advisor is the appropriate point of contact.
Would you like to first see which role and obligation apply to your company before you engage in discussion with suppliers? With the free role check in a few questions you will get an initial indication. Curious about how eudri.com processes, validates and builds the data provided into a dossier? You can read about that on the page where the process is explained, and frequently asked questions about such situations are collected on the overview with frequently asked questions.